Coin Toss
by skyfireflight16
Summary: Mika and Yuu; two sides of the same coin. Mika is desperate to find and rescue his family. Mere days after Krul declares war, a human from the JIDA is taken prisoner and brought to Sanguinem. When Mika finds out that this prisoner may help lead him to Yuu, he decides to take that chance.
1. Caught

_I've seen how much he needs you,_

 _how much you need him._

 _You're like two sides of the same coin._

 _\- from Merlin_

* * *

She didn't count on ending her career by being captured by vampires. But then again, no one did. They all knew the risks – being killed or captured on the battlefield – but as something abstract. Something that happened, but to others. Not to _you._

Well.

Kyali ran, her feet pounding on the pavement, her sweaty hand clutching tightly onto her weapon. The day was sweltering hot, and all the dodging and attacking and running certainly didn't help. Neither did the black layers of her uniform. They clung to Kyali's skin miserably, the sweat and heat making her itch like mad, and she would have scratched the eczema rashes on her legs and ankles bloody had she not been occupied with staying alive.

The cries and screams of her comrades still echoed in her ears. What was supposed to have been a routine scouting mission – securing the area, watching for any Horsemen of John, and cutting down any that appeared – had turned into a run-in with a group of vampires. There was at least one noble among them – she didn't give herself time to look, trying to avoid their freakishly fast attacks and do what she could to defend her comrades – and by then, it had nearly been time to go back, everyone tired from both the heat and from fighting several Horsemen. The five of them hadn't stood a chance.

In the time it had taken to spot the vampires, draw their weapons, and blink twice, two of Kyali's comrades were already bleeding on the ground. The remaining three had formed a defensive circle around the fallen ( _but still alive and groaning)_ , but it was clear that they were hopelessly, _hopelessly,_ outmatched.

She didn't remember all that had happened next. It was blur of dodging and slashing and running. Finally, with a bleeding wound in her side, she called out to her comrades.

 _Run! Go! I'll lead these ones away!_

They couldn't understand her, of course, but hopefully her gestures, which included physically shoving another girl out of a vampire's path, and tone of voice got the message across. Maybe, she had thought, just maybe, she would be able split the vampire's numbers among them, and give the rest of her comrades a better chance. Which was stupid, she reflected now; vampires were several times faster than humans. Just how far from her friends could she lead them, before she was caught or killed herself? A few feet, if that. Kyali blamed her heat-addled brain.

So, she had run. Willed her reluctant legs to turn and carry her away from the battle, away from her comrades' screams, _(please don't let them die, oh please!),_ off of the strip of space between buildings that served as this ruined city's "street." She had thought she heard a vampire bark something, but she had paid it no mind.

Footsteps had come after her speeding form. The sounds had been too heavy to be those of her friends. _(Good. It worked.)_ A whoosh of wind behind her and she'd turned, reflexes kicking in and blocking a sword from cleaving her in twain. Kyali had jumped backward and slashed at the vampire with her own weapon, which he easily, _far too easily_ , dodged. His two companions had joined in, _(two more, that makes three, makes five minus three, makes two against four for them, good it worked! Makes three against one for me crap I'm screwed!)_ taking swipes at her that clanged against her weapon or barely missed shearing another slice into her flesh.

They were _toying_ with her.

So be it. Let them play. She didn't care, as long it gave her friends better odds _(But what about you?! Ah, dodge!)_

 _(Shut up, voice in my head.)_

Though in this situation, she was grateful for her demon, despite what it put her through. The wound in her side that she had gotten in the initial fight was healed, even if the energy it had sucked out of her _(do_ not _use that word around_ vampires; _bad brain, bad!)_ had not been replenished. She did not have the strength to call up her demon's full power. Now she had to focus on not getting another wound in her side. Or anywhere else.

She was running on pure adrenaline, and that, too, was quickly leaving her. Kyali blocked one vampire's sword lunging for her torso and back-flipped over the vampire who made a slash at her back. She landed on her feet and instantly turned, swinging her weapon, which came into contact with a vampire's with a ringing clash. She pushed against it and used the leverage to make a long jump backward, before rotating her body and sprinting.

Turn. Block. Slash. Jump. Run. Repeat.

She had no idea how long this had been going. Much shorter of a time than it felt like, she was sure. She swerved around the corner of a building, grateful for the small shadow it cast – a reprieve from the sun. Breathing in labored gasps, Kyali came to a stop. Her legs shook, just barely keeping her upright, and she was _hot…so hot…._

Exhaustion and heat stroke took its toll. Sweaty left fingers lost their grip on the weapon in their grasp. The blade fell onto the concrete with a clang. Kyali followed after. She collapsed to her knees and fell forward, landing on her back, her weapon laying to her right. Colors of the sky and buildings above blurred together, everything felt fuzzy and muted, and the pavement felt so comfortable….

 _I…can't go anymore. Please…._

The sound of several pairs of slow footsteps filled her ears. Maybe, it occurred to her dazedly, that was the vampires' plan all along: to run her down until she was exhausted. Not that they _needed_ to, with their overpowering strength and speed. But that wasn't the point, she supposed.

The footsteps got closer, then stopped. Blurry faces of the three vampires looked down at her, and she could hear muted voices talking. After a few moments, a fourth set of footsteps approached – the noble, or at least one of them, if the difference in clothing colors was anything to go by. The new vampire joined in the conversation. She couldn't understand what they were saying, but she did make out two words, spoken by the noble.

Humans.

Dead.

 _No…please…no…._

Tears filled Kyali's eyes and dripped down her cheeks, not having the strength to wipe them away. Her vision grayed, and before her eyes slid closed, she thought she saw a fuzzy mass stoop toward her.

Then she was gone.


	2. Pointless

A strong shiver woke Kyali up. The surface she was laying on was hard and cold, a stark contrast to the heat she endured before. But not a welcome contrast; it was cold, far too cold, _freezing_ , and she shivered constantly, uncontrollably. The black layers of her uniform did nothing to stave off the chill, and it occurred to her that her cape was gone and her feet were bare. Her throat felt so dry; no doubt she was very dehydrated. Her body still heavy and weak, Kyali blinked her tired eyes open, half-squinting in the bright light.

 _(Where am I…?)_

Through the fog that lingered in her mind, she registered pale floor tiles, and a shackle on her right wrist, which was attached to a chain that lead away from her field of vision. Oh, yeah, that's right. She had been captured.

 _Captured._

 _(Oh, no.)_

Her mind flashed back to the images from earlier, her running, _fighting_ , until she was exhausted. Her finally giving out, the vampires leisurely coming toward her helpless form like wild animals after dying prey, the muted voices speaking in a language she could no longer understand. The echoing sounds of her friends' cries. Two words she had been able to decipher from the vampires' gibberish.

Humans.

Dead.

Tears welled up in her eyes once again, unbidden, and a weak, breathy sob heaved from her chest. Kyali attempted to move to shackled hand to wipe the tears away, but only managed to slide it a few inches before the effort became too much, still weary from the earlier events. Another sob shuddered out, in time with her body's shivers. She had _failed._ All of that effort, running herself ragged so that she was still so exhausted even now, and it was all for nothing.

It had been for _nothing._

She had _failed._ Failed her comrades – her _friends –_ and now they were…they were….

The water cascading from her eyes like thin, salty waterfalls fell down her cheeks and pooled onto the floor. It felt like ice against her skin, making her colder, she didn't register it through her internal agony.

Maybe it would have been better if she had stayed. She should have stayed with them. _That_ would have given them a better chance.

( _No),_ the rational voice in her head murmured. It would have made no difference. Five vampires against five humans; she would have met the same fate has her the rest of her squad. She would have died, too.

But why hadn't they killed her?

The voice in her head gave no answer, but Kyali didn't need one. She already knew. There were only two reasons a vampire would let a human live, would capture them.

But why her?

She lay there on the cold floor, of what she could only assume was a prison cell, half on her back and half on her side, and sobbed all the more, the tears rushing faster and thicker from red, weary eyes.

Was all she did so worthless?

The quiet sounds of the human crying echoed down the stone halls, into the ears those nearby. They soon faded to silence.

* * *

A sharp pain in her side jerked her awake. She didn't even remember falling asleep. Her eyes struggled open, and she let out a pain gasp when she was kicked in the same spot once again. The chains that held her clinked softly with the movement from the impact. Everything was still feeling a little bit hazy, which was strange. She didn't know how long she had been here – several hours at least – but she had figured her head would be clearer by now. A pair of light-colored boots filled her line of sight, and Kyali tried to turn her head slightly so that she could see the rest of the vampire and get a better look. When she did, the movement came to an abrupt halt. She only barely managed to turn her head an inch before a sharp pain exploded in her skull and her vision swayed and filled with dancing, black and white sparks.

This was weird. Had she hit her head?

The black and white dots finally dispersed, and the pain in her head toned down to a slightly less intense ache. Kyali squinted up at the figure above her. Well, the part she could see, anyway. Now, instead of just the light-colored boots, she could see the lower part of the vampire's outfit. Light-colored pants matched the boots, above which was a robe-ish…thing – it was hard to tell from this angle – of the same color. Which was _so_ out of style; what did the vampires think it was, the thirteenth century? Although, there was a good chance that this vampire hovering over her, as well as many others, actually were from the thirteenth century.

Light-colored clothing and basic boots, pants, and robes usually – though not always, she recalled – denoted a common vampire, as opposed to a noble. Kyali let her head fall back to its original position. Good. At least that was some tiny, _tiny_ _(emphasis on tiny)_ bit of relief; she did _not_ want to deal with a noble vampire right now.

Like her comrades had.

With that thought, the split-second she managed to distract herself from the graveness of her situation was violently and abruptly ended. Her friends her dead, probably slaughtered by the noble, or nobles, that had stayed behind when the three vampires had chased her. Images filled her mind, and she wondered if it had been painful or swift, if their blood had flowed on the ground and stained the vampire's boots –.

Her morbid train of thought was quickly shattered when the vampire above her gave a harsh bark. So, the vampire was male; that was one mystery solved. It sounded like a command of some sort, if the tone of voice was anything to go by, but she wasn't sure who it was being directed at. Which was silly, she thought, as reason made its way to her brain; there were only two people here: herself and the vampire. A light-colored boot collided with her, surely bruised, side for a third time, and Kyali let out a weak, raspy cry at the pain. The vampire continued to speak. His tones alternated between commanding and questioning, and she slightly squinted in confusion. What was this vampire trying to do? Why was he talking to her like this?

Then it occurred to her. Of _course_. She was being interrogated. She was a prisoner now, a prisoner and member of the military, and the enemy side surely wanted any information she could give them on the Army's plans, movements, developments, numbers.

Which wasn't information she could give, even if she could speak the language; she was just a regular soldier, and only those higher up on the leadership ladder – of which she was not even on the first rung – would be privy to that kind of intel. Especially since the number of soldiers was constantly fluctuating, and any plans were given to those below on a strictly need-to-know basis; and a simple, routine scouting trip did not count as needing to know any major military strategies or developments. There _was_ one exception, one that she was certain only applied to her, but of course that was not something the vampires would be interested in, or even know about.

Be that as it may, the longer they thought she could give them information, the better. As long as she still had something of use to them, there was a better chance of them keeping her alive. Or at least, not killing her any sooner.

At her silence – the vampire had paused in his barking for a few seconds – said vampire shouted again and punished her with another swift kick. This one hit higher than the last one: right in her stomach. A grunt escaped from her lips, and she coughed harshly several times, trying to get back the breath that had been knocked out of her lungs. The vampire over her said something else, but before he could do anything more, she heard the door to her cell open. Hinges creaked somewhere away from Kyali's line of sight, and she heard overlapping footsteps clack on the tiled floor.

A new voice spoke up, this one distinctly female. Kyali blinked when the voice reached her ears. It sounded like a child, no more than ten or twelve years old. But when the first vampire spoke back to her, the change of tone was drastic. His volume lowered, and he sounded respectful, reverent even – and even…even a bit of fear quivered in his voice. A question of who this new vampire-child was flickered in the back of her mind, but she did not dwell on it. She would find out soon enough, most probably.

The conversation between the child-like sounding vampire and the male continued for several minutes. For this, Kyali was grateful. It gave her relief from the beating and a chance to catch her breath. She slowly took air in and let it down, hoping the increased oxygen would help clear her still somewhat-muddled head. Disappointingly, it did not. Still, she continued to quietly take deep breaths, until she heard someone's footsteps move. The vampire the sounds belonged to moved their boots and swished their robes into her line of sight, stopping next to the first vampire. This one positioned themselves slightly closer to her than the first. The other two vampires stopped talking, and the new vampire asked something to the first vampire _(the second vampire is also a male)_ , to which the first vampire gave a reply.

Now Kyali dearly wished she knew what they were saying.

Male vampire number two spoke once again to male vampire number one. After a pause, in which Kyali assumed that the first male made a gesture to indicate an answer, the second turned his attention to her, barking out something in the same tone as the previous interrogator. Kyali said nothing. Upset by her silence, the vampire put his left boot over her right arm and applied steadily increasing pressure. He spoke as he did so, tone low and menacing, and there was no doubt in Kyali's mind that he was threatening to maim her if she did not cooperate.

She sucked in a sharp breath in fear – she did _not_ want to feel that kind of pain she had fractured her arm once when she was a child and _(no please no not again)_ – which aggravated her parched throat and sent her into a fit of coughing. Kyali curled into herself as best she could. Chains clinked as she moved her left arm to hold it against her chest and close to her mouth, coughing into it, tears springing into her eyes at the exertion. Finally, the coughing subsided, and Kyali caught her breath.

Toward the end of the fit, the child-like vampire spoke up, and the second male removed his boot from her arm with a _hmph_. When Kyali was breathing normally again, the childish voice spoke up once more, ending her words with a sharp tone of command. One of the male vampires gave an answer, before directing his attention to the human female in front of him. He spoke to her again, his tone rough and questioning, and she was kicked smartly in the thigh – she whimpered in pain – for her lack of compliance.

And so the interrogation went on; for every time a demand or question was answered in silence, Kyali was rewarded with a painful kick somewhere on her body. No doubt she would bruise spectacularly. At one point, one of the vampires grabbed a handful of her long, black hair, gripping it at the back of her skull, pulling at the roots painfully and jerking her head back and forth sharply. Pain exploded behind her eyes at the sharp motion, and she gasped, then whimpered, her vision swirling once again. A voice spoke, and her head was dropped back against the cold tile.

Cold.

She was so cold. And so tired.

 _(Make it stop…please.)_

Her body trembled almost indecipherably now, different from the powerful near-convulsions that shook her body when she first awoke in this place. The pain in her head dulled, and her vision righted itself, albeit some of the haze still remained. She blinked her eyes slowly, trying to clear fog, but to no avail.

Just like this interrogation, like her failed attempt at helping her friends, it was pointless.

One of the vampires said something; her mind was still so dazed that she couldn't even make out the sounds, only the tone. Finally, Kyali spoke. Her voice was a quiet, halting rasp against her dry throat; she was thirsty…so thirsty….

In perfect English, she breathed out, "I don't…speak…Japanese."

* * *

" _Nani?"_

The voice that sounded like a little girl rang through the room, incredulity filling it. Footsteps clicked on the tile floor, and black, high-heeled boots came into Kyali's view. The owner of the voice crouched in front of her, and the human's vision was filled with a cascading waterfall of pink hair. A small hand took hold of Kyali's hair and tilted her head back. Red eyes studied dark brown ones, as if trying to discover some secret from them.

" _Nani?"_ The child-like vampire repeated the question, her stare boring all the more into Kyali's glazed eyes. Kyali recognized the word. She knew it from somewhere. It meant…it meant….

"I-I..." she tried to say.

" _Krul-sama."_

Another voice, a male, interrupted. The child-like vampire broke her gaze and turned her head toward the speaker. Words were exchanged, the pink-haired vampire alternating from looking at the speaker to back at Kyali. At some point, the grip on the human's hair was released, and the vampire stood up and walked away.

Everything from then on happened in a haze to Kyali. She thought she heard people talking and moving about, their voices going in and out of focus, just like the cell she was in. She thought she drifted in and out of awareness, but she couldn't be sure if she actually lost consciousness, or simply wasn't paying attention. As it was, paying attention was a struggle, and she didn't bother herself with the effort.

She felt hands take hold of her, and she vaguely registered that she was being rolled to rest fully on her back. Something pressed down on top of her, squeezing against her sides, but no painfully so, and putting pressure on her shoulders. Then something pressed against her lips, and a warm, unidentified liquid filled her mouth. It tasted metallic, like…like _blood_.

She didn't want to drink it, but she had no energy to resist. The liquid pooled at the back of her throat, and she reflexively swallowed. Immediately, muscles she didn't even know were tense relaxed. Lethargy flooded Kyali's veins and took over her limbs, and her eyes felt even heavier. Her stomach ached slightly from the foreign blood inside it.

The pressure was removed from her mouth. A few moments passed in silence as the vampires waited for something to happen.

Nothing did.

There was a flurry of movement, which was unnoticed by the human in the room. The next thing Kyali new, more blood was being forced into her mouth, and a larger amount of it than before. Kyali was forced to swallow several times in succession. With each gulp, she could feel herself growing weaker and weaker, to the point that a hand was placed on her cheek to keep her head from lolling to the side. The flow stopped, and she coughed and gasped when she was finally allowed to breath. The ache in her stomach was now on the border of painful. She hoped this was over.

 _(Please…let that be it...)_

It was not over.

Blood was forced into her mouth again and again. Again and again, she was made to swallow the foul substance. The ache in her stomach turned into full-blown nausea, her insides cramping painfully, and she had to fight to keep her eyes open. Despite the low temperature of the room and surface she was laying on, she felt heat build in her limbs.

She knew this feeling; it was all too familiar. For a moment, her mind flashed back to those times, the situation now different, yet similar.

They had tried to change her, too. And it, too, was pointless.

The blood source against her mouth was taken away – which time this one was, she could not count – and she whimpered.

"Please," she begged, barely louder than a whisper, her body quivering. "Please…no more." Kyali felt sick, and all she wanted to do right now was sleep, _sleep_.

Voices and footsteps once again reached her ears, but this time no one was forcing blood down her throat. The movements faded, and the sounds turned to silence.

Kyali, still very much a human, let her eyes close, shielding her from the brightness, and slept.

* * *

 **\- Author's Note -**

 **And, here's chapter 2! Thanks for reading. Please leave a review, and feel free to ask any questions you may have. I'll answer them to the best of my ability, unless it's a major plot point and/or something to be revealed later, in which case you'll just have to wait and see.**

 **Oh, and I don't own Seraph of the End in any way, shape, or form. Dang it, I could use the money... Oh, well.**

 **'Til next time**

 **-Sky**


	3. A Night in Sanguinem

**_\- 3 hours earlier –_**

While Krul didn't particularly care about the well-being of humans – especially those from the Japanese Imperial Demon Army – she was less than pleased about the rough treatment this prisoner was being given.

First, they couldn't very well gain information from a human with a head injury – courtesy from those that had brought her here. One, who had the girl slung over his shoulder, admitted to "accidentally bumping" the girl's head during the trip – _"Oops, it appears I may have bumped the livestock's head on something, so it might be a little woozy after it wakes up. My bad!"_

It was clearly more than just a "bump," but thankfully not a concussion. That would have been even more of an annoyance, one Krul did _not_ want to deal with. And there would be no point in capturing a human to interrogate if it died from a brain injury.

So, because of this "bump" to the head, instead of trying to wake her right away, the human had been left alone for a few more hours than was originally intended. Seven hours to be precise; that was roughly the amount of time humans needed to sleep.

Then, she had given the go-ahead for interrogation.

And was displeased all over again.

Secondly, nor would they be able to get anything out of the girl if she passed out from pain or dizziness. It was for this reason Krul was very aggravated with the two who were interrogating the prisoner; she had to call them off on more than one occasion. She was glad she had come into the cell when she did.

In hindsight, she really should have gotten someone else to question the human, but the interrogation was already in progress, so, too late for that now.

As the interrogation continued, the human, surprisingly, did not utter a single word. Not even the standard _Where have you taken me?_ or _I won't tell you anything!_ that was common among those being imprisoned and interrogated. Or even an _Ow! Stop! No, that hurts!_

No, she didn't speak at all.

Until she did.

Needless to say, Krul was shocked by what she heard.

" _What?_ "

Krul gazed into the human's eyes, which were tired and slightly unfocused, trying to determine whether or not the creature was lying. And if not, some clue as to what in the world was going on. The girl was clearly Japanese; there were no two ways about it. However, the human just told her, _in unaccented English_ , that she did not speak her own language.

" _What?"_ Krul repeated.

The girl's brown eyes wavered, and she looked like she was trying to remember something. She attempted an answer, again in _English_ , when one of her subordinates interrupted.

"Lady Krul." Krul turned her gaze toward the male vampire, but kept some of her attention tuned to the creature laying on the cell floor. "We have the information you requested."

"And?"

The man answered, and she almost couldn't believe her ears.

Oh. Now _that_ was _interesting_.

And, if it was true, made the language phenomenon make more sense, or at least give it a possible explanation.

"Is this for certain?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Krul had to keep her delight from showing. Another seraph, landed practically right in her lap.

She dismissed the male vampire, with orders to tell no one outside those in the circle and a _look_ that told him exactly what would happen if he disobeyed.

Now, just to keep it. To tie it to herself.

Turning the girl into a vampire would be simple.

 **– _Present_ –**

Well, it _should_ have been simple.

Krul replayed the events in her mind as she walked back through the dimly-lit walkways, up from the dungeons and back to the throne room, her heeled black boots making soft sounds against the stone of the floor and her features scrunched in thought.

First, she had given the girl blood mouth-to-mouth, in the same manner as when she'd turned Mika. When nothing happened, Krul had cut open a deep slice in her arm to bring forth a greater flow of blood, and tried that method.

No matter how much of her blood she had poured down the girl's throat, she would _not_ turn, and stubbornly remained human.

In her two millennia of life, this was not something she had ever seen. How could this be? She would have to look over this human's information later. Perhaps she would find a clue there as to why the turning didn't work.

Eventually, Krul had given up. The human had not been responding to the blood – well, she _had been_ , just not in the way that was expected. Krul had given all the blood she was willing to part with at the time, which was quite a lot. If that wasn't enough to turn the girl, chances were she wasn't going to, no matter how much vampire blood she ingested.

Krul sat back onto her throne, tapping her chin in contemplation. She would just have to think of something else. For now, she would keep the seraph locked up. It wouldn't do to let it run loose; not that it _could_ in the state it was in.

She would give the human time to recover. Then, she would make a decision.

As it would happen, that decision found her first.

"Ah, Mika!" She all but cooed at the young half-vampire.

The thumped shut. Mika walked into the throne room, white cloak swaying behind him, determination both in his step and shining in his eyes.

"Thirsty again already?" Krul teased, smiling fondly at the boy. Mischief danced in her eyes as she reclined further in her seat, resting her cheek on her right knuckles.

"N-no," the blond stuttered, his gaze flicking downwards for a moment. He was ashamed of, and even hated, having to rely on the vampire queen for blood, and being teased about it embarrassed him.

Much to the amusement of the room's other occupant.

"I'm – I'm fine for now, thank you, Krul." Mika cleared his throat and raised his head to look back up at her. He continued walking toward her, and stopped just before the steps.

"Oh?" The vampire queen questioned, indicating for him to continue. She tilted her head, now resting her temple on her fist, and waited for Mika to speak.

"I heard there was a human prisoner brought here."

"Ah, yes." Krul cut him off. She knew where this was going. Technically, since Mikaela was her "son," he was indeed part of the group of select few that were granted access to hush-hush information. And being such, he was sure to have heard something of that nature.

The fact that there was a human prisoner from the Japanese Imperial Demon Army was not in that category. Some of the details about this human, however, _were_.

Not that it applied to the young vampire in front of her.

"A human girl from the Japanese Imperial Demon Army was captured and brought to this city. She's currently chained up in the dungeons. Is there something specific you are curious about?"

"I…" The boy was hesitant even now, as if he was nervous in daring to hope. "I overheard that she was part of the human experimentation was well. That she…" his voice dropped to a hush, so that only Krul would be able to hear him should anyone be trying to eavesdrop outside the door, "has the seraph gene, too. Is that…is that true?"

Ah, she _thought_ she had sensed Mika hovering around in the shadows, trailing behind those involved with the prisoner. She had sensed correctly.

"Yes." Krul nodded in affirmation. "That human is like you." She got up from her seat with exaggerated effort and came down the steps toward Mika. "And, like you, I tried to make her into one of us," at this, Mika's eyes went wide, "to protect her and keep her here." Krul finished her descent and stood beside the blond, each vampire turning sideways to face the other.

Mika blinked as he processed Krul's words. "' _Tried_ ' _?_ "

"Apparently, her body somehow resisted the blood's effects, although however her body fought it seemed to leave her weaker. But, I'm still going to keep her here, locked up, for now. Until I decide exactly what to do with her. Unless…" Krul tilted her head and narrowed her red eyes at the young half-vampire, "… _you_ have something in mind, Mika?"

"I was wondering if I could –." Mika began.

"Oh, don't ask me; don't ask me," Krul turned and skip-walked away from him, in a manner that matched her childish appearance, before turning around once more to face him. "I don't know every single thing you do in this city, Mika. But, if you must know," she made her way back towards Mika and continued upwards to her throne, speaking as she ascended, "the girl is in a rather bad way; it must be rough, being in a cold dungeon with no one to care for her."

Krul settled back in her seat. Taking the hint, Mika nodded and turned to make his way out of the room.

"Oh, and Mika," the pink-haired vampire called after him, "you may want to brush up on your English. The girl doesn't speak Japanese, for some strange reason."

Mika only nodded at the revelation without looking back, and left the throne room. A member of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army, and she didn't speak Japanese? Something those foul humans did must have messed with her brain.

As he headed down the dimly lit pathway, he kicked himself for agreeing to guard duty for this shift. Seeing the human would have to wait a little longer.

* * *

"Well, that was an ordeal." A voice rang out somewhere to her left.

Kyali opened her eyes to a blue, cloud-dotted sky above her, a flat, colorless expanse stretched out underneath. Sitting up, she turned her head and saw the source of the voice. A bit of a distance away, seated with her knees to her chest, next to a prone blade, was Hanai'ame-Rin.

She looked to be about nine years old, and had straight, shoulder-length, yellow hair with a turquoise sheen, out of which stuck pointy ears. Covering her child-like frame were a long t-shirt, which had a hue so light Kyali couldn't tell what color it was – it seemed to shift with the light whenever the girl looked at it –, and pink shorts that ended at the middle of her thigh. On her feet were white sandals; the design covered her toes, then crossed the center of her foot length-wise, splitting off and coming together again to form an oval-dash-leaf-shaped hole, before circling her ankle to hold the sandal in place.

"Tell me about it." Kyali answered grumpily. She sighed, looking up and around, taking in the calm surroundings. She grimaced and moved her tongue around in her mouth as she remembered being forced to drink vampire blood. She could still taste the lingering bitter tang.

"Although, I have to say it was interesting," the demon said, unmoving.

" _Interesting?"_ Kyali repeated, incredulous. "For _you_ maybe. Not for me. That is _not_ something I want to go through again." She breathed out a sound of disgust and shuddered. _(Yewgh.)_

"True, I only got to watch. I'd say that's the most excitement I've had since our contract."

Kyali whipped her head around, narrowed her eyes, and _glared_ at the diminutive demon. Oh, yes, she recalled the contract-making event quite well. And she didn't appreciate the subject being brought up; it was _not_ something she wanted to think about at the moment. "The Horsemen and the fight with the vampires wasn't enough excitement for you?" She shot back, her tone of voice hard with irritation.

"Oh, I was including the fight with the vampires. The Horsemen get kind of old, and they aren't people, just mindless beasts. So, they do nothing for me." The demon rested her cheeks on her fists, sounding for all the world like she was just talking about the weather.

 _Yes, cloudy with a chance of horseman. So normal. Severe flash-vampire warning, take shelter or evacuate? Now we're talking!_

Or at least, that's what Kyali imagined went on in Hanai'ame-Rin's mind. Which was ironic, since the demon was in _Kyali's_ mind. A mind within a mind. That was basically what was happening here.

Aaaaaand she didn't want to think about it.

The human occupying the space sighed and flopped onto her back, flailing her arms out to her sides. It was funny; when she was here, it was hard to be worried, even though she knew, by all logic, she should be freaking out over the fact that she had just lost her squad and been captured by vampires.

But instead of panicking about planning how to escape and try to get back home, a sense of calm and mellowness washed over her, as if it were what the atmosphere here was made of.

"So, what have you been doing when you're 'bored'?" Kyali asked her demon. She tilted her head to the left to face her.

"Oh, not much," the demon shrugged, her arms now wrapped around her knees, "just thinking of creative ways to possess you."

Again. _Twenty-percent chance of demon take over; make sure to bring your umbrellas and your weapons._

"You know that's not possible. It's not going to happen," the black-haired human replied.

"Oh, I know," Hanai'ame-Rin shifted to lay on her stomach, propped up by her elbows, and waggled an index finger in the air, "but you never know!" She sounded all too cheerful for the subject matter, and Kyali rolled her eyes. "You're strong, but not _that_ strong, even if you do have an advantage."

"Even if you did, you know I'd just be killed, right? Then you would die, too."

"Yeah, yeah," the diminutive being waved her hand dismissively. "But at least it would be a few minutes of excitement! I'd get to _do_ stuff with your boring old self's body instead of just being an on-looker!" She got up to her knees and waved her arms around, mimicking a puppet.

Kyali sighed, feeling too tired to laugh at the spectacle, and averted her gaze to what served as the sky. "Stop teasing me."

"Oh, come _on!_ " The demon flopped onto her back dramatically and kicked her feet against the space's floor, acting like the child she appeared to be. "Let me have some fun! You try being stuck in a weapon for years and then trapped in a person's mind and see how _you_ like it."

"Yeah, that would stink." Kyali agreed, bringing her hands to pillow beneath her head.

"You betcha it does." Hanai'ame-Rin then squinted her eyes at Kyali. "And I did _not_ appreciate being told to 'shut up' when I was trying to give you advice earlier."

"Oh, that. Sorry. It's just hard to concentrate on not dying when you have someone talking in your head." Kyali said, her tone sincere, if a little flat.

"Hm." The demon occupant of the space nodded. There was moment where neither of them spoke. And then, in a neutral voice. "What are we gonna do now?"

Kyali turned her head to face the demon once again. "We?" She repeated.

"Yeah, we. I'm in here, too, y'know."

"Yeah," Kyali let out a deep exhale. "I don't know. I'm not really in the shape to do _anything_ right now."

Hanai'ame-Rin shrugged, once more seated on her rear with her knees bent at her chest. "Well, I'll be here when you do know."

"Mmhmm," Kyali acknowledged the statement.

"And please hurry up," the demon said, although her tone conveyed that she cared little about whether or not Kyali actually did hurry. "It'll give me something to pass the time."

"I'll try. I don't want to stay here, either." Kyali replied.

The demon nodded, then spoke again after a few moments. "It looks like it's about time to wake up."

To Kyali, it felt like it had been only a few minutes, but she knew that time passed differently in the dream world than it did in the waking world.

Kyali didn't want to wake; it was peaceful here. Ironic, given the nature of the companion, but peaceful nevertheless.

Sure enough, however, the scenery around her began to go out of focus, as she surfaced to consciousness.

* * *

 **-Author's Note-**

 **Hmm...I'm not too sure about this chapter. I don't know if I got Krul's character right. I may rewrite it sometime in the future.**

 **Although, I did enjoy writing the demon conversation.**

 **A bit of a filler, but we do get some insight on our characters, and bridge a gap between one major event and the next.**

 **Disclaimer: Like last time, I don't own Seraph of the End.**

 **Please leave your reviews and your questions in the box; I will do my best to answer them, unless they are spoilers, in which case you'll just have to wait.**

 **Until next time!**

 **-Sky**


	4. The Seraphs, Two

Mika made his way briskly along the dark stone pathways, his boots clicking against the stone floor, his white cape swaying behind him. The guard duty shift that he'd trapped himself into had finally ended.

It had been the usual day; he had watched human children clad in livestock uniforms emerge from their dwellings and run and play in the streets, and had tried and failed not to think of Yuu and their family, back when they had been in the same situation – not happy, but _together_.

He'd had a run-in with Ferid, who, as always, he tried and failed to avoid. As usual, the older vampire, with his sickly-sweet sing-song voice, had teased and taunted him, _"Come now, Miika-kun, just one little sip. Aww, still thinking of your precious Yuu?",_ within an inch of the blue-eyed teen's sanity. Mika's glares and sharp retorts at him to _stop_ , _shut up_ , _go away_ , and _leave me alone_ , only seemed to encourage the annoying, sadistic jerk even more. Luckily and thankfully, when Ferid had found him, the shift had nearly been over.

Once the time ended, he had abruptly turned his heel and marched away, not minding in the least to cut off his tormentor mid-sentence. Ferid had called after Mika's quickly retreating form. " _Oi, where are you going off to in such a hurry, Miiikaa? We just started our fun little chat!"_

Of course, Mika had ignored him and continued his fast pace, and swiftly left the silver-haired vampire, who thankfully didn't follow him, behind. The sooner he could get to see the human, the better.

 _(She's a seraph like Yuu and me. If she was being experimented on and used by the humans, too, then maybe she knows something about Yuu. Maybe she could help me find him.)_ Mika thought. This could be his chance to be united with his family after all this time, – and maybe help another person who was in the same situation as they were, – and rescue Yuu from the awful humans who were manipulating him.

He knew it might not work; there was the possibility that human girl did not know anything about Yuu or where he could be found. Or, though Mika could not imagine why, she could be loyal to the Japanese Imperial Demon Army, and refuse to help him even after he explained everything. If that happened, then Mika would...

…well, Mika didn't know what he would do.

But there was still a chance, and he was going to take it.

He had to try.

Before that, though, he would have to make a quick stop, much to his annoyance. But for the sake of the girl, he shoved down his impatience. Krul had told Mika that the human was in a bad way, and that the blood she had been given to try to turn her had left her in a weak state. He would have to find out just how bad off she was, and then get the necessary things to care for her and help her recover.

It couldn't be helped.

Mika just hoped the human's condition wasn't too serious.

* * *

Everything was blurry. No matter how many times she blinked, Kyali's vision refused to come into focus, and instead appeared as if she was looking through a pixelated heat wave. Her throat was raw from dehydration, and it felt like it was on fire. The blood from earlier had done nothing to remedy the dryness; if anything, it had only made it worse, the liquid having burned at the lining of her esophagus as it went down, as well as – or so Kyali imagined – whatever little moisture had been left.

Her lips were dry and cracked; she had licked them countless times out of instinct, but of course that didn't help. It wouldn't surprise her if they were bleeding, though she couldn't tell with the metallic taste of the vampire's blood still on her tongue.

She didn't know how long she had been laying there on the cold cell floor. No dreams had come after the conversation with the demon – who, Kyali had noted before waking, had been unusually lively; had she been feeling better, she might have wondered about this more. Since she had woken up from it, Kyali had been drifting in and out of consciousness. Her limbs felt sluggish and heavy; she could barely move her head.

Shivers racked her body. Cold from stone beneath her, as well as from the metal shackles around her wrists, seeped into her skin, like icy tendrils belonging to some many-tentacled creature, adding to the already low temperature of the air in the room, which made it feel like a blanket of frost was covering her, wrapping around her body and smothering her, with no way to throw it off.

Despite the chill, Kyali's forehead was shiny with sweat, and a thin layer coated the back of her neck. Which was weird, considering; it was a wonder she had any moisture in her body to produce sweat, with how parched she was. She could feel heat beneath her skin, tracing burning paths through her veins, and yet she still trembled with uncontrollable shivers.

Nausea would bloom in her stomach and rise into her throat, and she would try to take slow, deep breaths, though this would sometimes aggravate her throat and cause her to cough. After a few minutes – or what Kyali assumed to be a few minutes; she couldn't calculate the passage of time very well right now – the feeling would pass, only to rear its ugly head again not long after.

The bruises on her body that she had gotten from the beating several hours ago still ached, and she was sore wherever the vampire's boots had kicked her. For a fleeting moment, she faintly wondered why she seemed to be healing slower than normal, but her foggy mind could not keep its grasp on the thought.

In short, Kyali was miserable. She felt both too hot and too cold at the same time, like a blistering fire at been lit inside her body and was battling a freezing wave of ice with neither one losing, parts of her wet and sticky with sweat, sick to her stomach though there was nothing to come up – when had she eaten last? –, and she was thirsty, _so, so thirsty._ She had never wanted water, or anything liquid as long as it wasn't blood, so desperately in her life.

The feeling of nausea returned again. She groaned weakly, the sound mostly air, and she scraped her fingernails against the hard tiles in discomfort, barely even managing that movement. Tears escaped from her eyes and trailed down her cheeks to drip onto the floor below.

 _(I'm so tired.)_ She thought as she began to drift back out of awareness. _(So thirsty…so cold…too hot…please…I don't want to be here.)_

Another thought came to the ill raven-haired girl, unbidden. A thought she had not had for years and years.

 _(I want to go home.)_

* * *

The dungeon was even darker than the rest of the city's streets. Of course, that was to be expected; it _was_ a dungeon, after all, which were dark and dreary by definition. It was not meant to be a pleasant place. There was no electricity sent to this area; light came from the flaming torches that were set in intervals along the walls.

Mika turned down the hallway, supplies in hand, and headed toward the cell he knew that the human was being kept in. He had learned from one who was involved with prisoner earlier that the girl was severely dehydrated and appeared to be ill; though what manner of sickness it was, the vampire he spoke with did not know. And of course, none of them could be bothered to find out. To them, she was just a livestock prisoner.

His curiosity in said livestock prisoner had not been questioned, although Mika had been able to see the confused looks in their eyes when he had come to ask, especially so with the male vampire he had talked to.

Whatever; it didn't matter. Mika knew he was considered a weird vampire, anyway; everyone he came in contact with knew he didn't drink human blood.

That alone was enough to grant him placement in the "strange" category, after which no one would really wonder too much about his actions; they just chalked it up to a dismissive, "Oh, that guy is just weird like that."

Which was just fine with Mika. He was finally getting to see the other seraph, and could do so without any hindering interference. Now, he just had to find out how ill she was, and get a doctor – there were those assigned to care for the livestock if they got too sick, though Mika was pretty sure those vampires had to have their arms twisted to do so, or maybe they were on standby just in case of an epidemic, because he couldn't remember being seen by a doctor even _once_ when he had gotten sick as a livestock child – if need be.

At last, he came to the cell where the human was kept. A simple wooden door placed in the stone wall, unlocked and unguarded. He grasped the handle with his free hand and pushed the door open.

One look at the human in the room, and Mika knew he would need a doctor.

The interior of the room was fairly well lit compared to the halls. Four flame-lit lanterns were placed high on the wall opposite the girl, and their collective bright light shone down on the human, illuminating her prone form. After shutting it, Mika stood by the door, taking her in.

The girl was on the cell floor, unconscious, laying in a partially curled position, half on her side and half on her back. Her wrists were encircled with shackles attached to lengthy chains, which were in turn attached to the wall above her. She had tanned skin and disheveled, waist-length black hair. She was clothed in what Mika assumed to be a military uniform, colored black and green, the top of it long-sleeved with parallel gold buttons down the front, the pleated skirt stopping at her mid-thigh. Her legs and feet were bare, and on her ankles and legs he could see pinkish-red rashes.

But what worried Mika was the way the girl's breathing seemed shallow and labored. She was shivering from the chilly temperature of the room, yet her skin shone with sweat that made her hair stick to her forehead and neck. Her fingers unconsciously grasped at the tiles, as if she was trying to grab ahold of something, and her lips were cracked and bloody.

Mika came over and crouched by the girl, carefully setting down the supplies next to him. He peeled off his gloves, put them aside, and softly pressed a hand to her forehead, feeling the unnatural heat emanating from her skin. It was clear she had a fever.

From the supplies, he took a thermometer, and with gentle movements, moved the human's hair back with one hand and pressed the end of the thermometer behind her ear. After about a minute, the machine beeped.

It read 39 ° C.

Yes, a doctor's attention was _definitely_ required.

But first, he had to get her out of this cell and to better accommodations.

Mika reached for the shackles that held the girl's wrists.

* * *

It was getting harder to breathe. Had it always been this hard to breathe?

That was the first thing Kyali noticed when she began to come to. It felt like her lungs couldn't get enough air, and she sucked in fast and desperately, though her inner muscles were loath to respond, and trying to do so was a struggle.

The second thing she noticed came in quick succession.

Kyali opened her eyes, the world still blurred. Someone was crouched beside her, and through the haze, she registered something touching her wrists. She whimpered softly in fear, which incited another whimper at the pain in her throat, the sounds barely audible, and weakly tried to pull away from the touch.

 _(No. Don't touch me. Go away.)_

Then a male voice spoke, it's tone soft and hushed.

And more importantly, _she could understand._

 _She could understand what he was saying._

After so long being surrounded by those who spoke a language that had become foreign to her, having to guess what was going on and only being able to pick out a word or two, this was a massive relief and comfort – so mentally _refreshing_ – in and of itself.

"Shh. Don't be afraid," the voice soothed in English, albeit with a thick Japanese accent, "I won't harm you."

The words and the voice calmed her, and Kyali did not continue her protests, but simply watched the person's ministrations, her eyes heavy-lidded and barely focused. The blurry figure took ahold of one wrist and broke the shackle off with his bare hands, rubbing the wrist briefly before carefully setting her hand back on the floor, then repeat the procedure with her other wrist.

She faintly heard a sound like hard plastic against hard plastic. Then light pressure on her left shoulder rolled her fully on her back, and a hand cupped the back of her head and lifted it. Fear spiked when something pushed lightly against her lips, and Kyali pressed them together and tried to turn her face away, remembering the last time something was poured into her mouth.

 _(No more blood. No more.)_

"It's alright," the soothing voice spoke again, reassuring, "It's only water."

 _Water!_

Kyali let her lips part and didn't resist when the liquid was tipped into her mouth. Unlike before, when the blood had been forced down her throat so that she had to scramble to swallow as not to choke and had been deprived of air, the water could not come fast enough.

It came as a slow trickle past her lips, giving her plenty space between swallows and allowing her time to breathe. She accepted the refreshing liquid eagerly, the water a cooling relief to her parched throat. Some splashed onto the cracked skin of her lips, making them sting from the open wounds, but Kyali didn't mind. Now they weren't desert dry anymore.

All too soon, the water was pulled away. Kyali whimpered in protest as her head was gently lowered back to the tile. The person who had given her the water seemed to understand.

"You'll get more soon, I promise. You'll get sick if you drink too much at once."

Which was sound logic, but still.

At least her throat no longer burned, and she could make sounds without it potentially triggering a coughing fit. It was also slightly easier to breathe. Not much, but at least slightly.

The sound of hard plastic-on-hard plastic reached her ears again, and then something warm and soft was being placed on top and around her shivering body.

No, not warm. She didn't want warm; she couldn't stand it now. But she was also cold, so _cold_ , and that part of her welcomed it.

The physical effort of trying to move and drinking the water exhausted her, coupled with the relaxing softness of the material that was draped over her.

She vaguely registered being lifted as her eyes fluttered closed.

* * *

The shackles were easy to break.

The girl had awoken as he was about to free her wrists, her dark brown eyes glassy from the fever, and fearful.

Now Mika was grateful to Krul for forcing him to learn all those languages, especially so for English being among them, and making him study and practice constantly. He had hated it at the time, but the knowledge proved to be crucial now, and Mika couldn't think of anything more important to use it for than this.

He'd had to reassure her again when he tried to give her water from the container he had brought. No doubt she was remembering being forced to drink Krul's blood and thought he was going to give her more.

He had given her the water slowly, making sure not to choke her, especially since her breathing came in shallow gasps. She had protested when he stopped, but he didn't know how long she had gone without eating or drinking anything besides vampire blood, and he didn't want her stomach to reject it.

It was when he wrapped her in the blanket that the human girl's eyes drifted closed. Her breathing was still shallow and labored, but less of the latter, and Mika was relieved by the slight improvement.

However, she was still dehydrated – she would need more than the small amount of water he had given her, and soon – and had a high fever that needed to be brought down.

Mika carefully slid his arms under her back and legs, fully wrapping her in the soft, red material, and picked her up. A small groan escaped the girl as she was moved, her muscles probably stiff and sore. Resting her legs on his knees for a moment, he gathered up the thermometer, plastic water container, and gloves. Then he stood up and left the cell, pushing the door closed with his foot.

The girl's head rested against his shoulder, and it occurred to him how small the girl was in his arms. Holding her close to his chest, Mika strode through the torch-lit halls of the dungeon toward the exit.

The blanket wrapped around the human not only protected her from the chill of the dungeon, but also served to hide the girl's military uniform and lack of livestock collar and bands. While no one would particularly question what he was doing with human livestock, breaking a prisoner of war out of their cell was something he technically wasn't supposed to do, even if the vampire queen herself did look the other way.

It wasn't something he wanted to be widely known – even if no one in Sanguinem would really care, rumors could get out and potentially reach the few that would –, and it would be if some random vampire were to happen to pass by him and see her clothing.

Which were filthy anyway, Mika thought as he made his way to his quarters with the human girl cradled tightly and securely in his arms. She trembled against him, and he could feel the heat from her skin more prominently now that he was holding her close. Her clothes needed to be changed, and she also needed a bath to clean her up and hopefully lower her fever.

And of course, it was just his luck, or rather the lack thereof, that the prisoner was a female, so it wasn't something he could do himself.

Fortunately, only one vampire passed him by on his trek down the streets, who didn't bother to even give him a glance, and he reached his destination without incident or hindrances.

Mika's living quarters consisted, among other things, several bedrooms of different sizes, all of which were finely furnished and had an adjoining bathroom. He passed by the room he used for himself and stopped at the door next to it. He adjusted his grip on his charge in order to grasp and turn the doorknob, pushing the door open.

The room wasn't large, but cozy. Inside was a queen-sized bed, positioned with the headboard against the far right wall and adorned with fluffy white pillows and a blanket with a dark blue-and-green pattern. To the left of it, against the same wall, was a nightstand with an electric lamp. A couple of chairs sat in the corners of the room opposite the door, to the right of the bed, and the entry to the attached bathroom was between them.

Mika walked over to the bed and, after setting the thermometer, water container, and gloves on the nightstand, carefully lowered the bundled human to rest on top of the blankets, her head resting on top of a soft pillow. He smoothed her limbs into a straight, more comfortable position.

The sick girl's breathing was still labored, but she took in air more deeply than she had been not ten minutes earlier. Her face looked more peaceful, too. Perhaps she was sleeping instead of simply unconscious. The water and changed environment made a difference, Mika was sure.

The blue-eyed half-vampire ran a hand across her feverish forehead and brushed off some of the sweat beads that had gathered there, lightly moving her hair from her forehead in the process.

It was time to call the doctors.

* * *

 **-Author's Note-**

 **Hi all! Sorry for the wait. I did a lot of editing with this chapter. I might come back and do some more.**

 **They finally meet! An actual conversation and proper introduction will have to wait, though, until Kyali isn't so out of it. Also, for those of us in America, 39 degrees Celsius is a little over 102 degrees Fahrenheit.**

 **At the end with her wrapped up in the blanket, I couldn't help but think that she's been turned into a hot burrito. But not hot in a good way, and strictly ornamental; Kyali isn't food, so stay away, vampires.**

 **Just my random thoughts on the matter.**

 **I have also changed the name of Kyali's demon in the previous chapter.**

 **As always, I don't own Seraph of the End in any way, shape, or form.**

 **Comments are always welcome, and if you have questions, please feel free to ask them.**

 **Til next time!**

 **-Sky**


	5. Ward

_Splish._

 _Swish._

 _Splish._

The sound of water softly splashing.

Hushed voices were gradually registered. Two of them, coming from somewhere to the left. Female-pitched, seemingly, but not with complete certainty. Too muffled to be sure; even if Kyali did understand Japanese, she would not have been able to decipher the words.

Smooth movement against her skin. On her torso. Her legs. Her feet.

Another splash, sounding larger this time, coming from the space in front of her.

Something – fingers, it felt like, five small points of pressure – holding her right arm. What felt like a wet cloth ran over her skin. Down her outer arm starting at the bone of her elbow, then from the crook of her elbow to the inside of her wrist, ranging from light pressure to something more like soft scrubbing.

Her head rested on a hard surface, as did her back, propping her up in a slightly inclined sitting position. The surface under her head was cold, but the one at her back was slightly warmer.

It slowly occurred to Kyali that she was immersed in water. The water was cool – not too cold, but comfortably so. Its coolness was refreshing and soothing against her limbs and body, and from where the water lapped at her collarbone as its surface was disturbed. She was no longer stuck in the miserable contradiction of being both too hot and too cold, like she had been the last time she was awake.

Also, the nausea was also nowhere to be found, for which Kyali was very grateful. She was still thirsty, but not with the overwhelming dryness as before.

Water. Scrubbing.

 _(Oh. I'm being given a bath.)_ Kyali realized.

She wanted to open her eyes, and see where she was and who the voices belonged to. But her eyelids were heavy and felt glued shut, and when she tried to open them, they did not respond to her commands.

The voices talked on, the cloth scrubbing at various parts of her body. Despite not knowing exactly where she was and who was handling her while she was in such a vulnerable, exposed state, the thought of protesting didn't even cross her mind for a moment.

She was still so tired, and at the same time, somewhat restless. It was like her limbs wanted to move, but did not have the energy. The cool water felt so good, so relaxing, especially against her heated skin, and Kyali couldn't help but succumb to the sensation, feeling herself begin to fall back asleep.

Fingers were in her hair now. Not yanking and pulling like the recent times before. They ran along her scalp soothingly, with slight tugs – but not painful ones – whenever their movements where obstructed by tangles. Kyali couldn't help but let out a small, barely audible sigh at the feeling.

That was the last thing she was aware off before she drifted off to oblivion.

* * *

Mika turned a page from the papers in his hands. The young, blue-eyed half-vampire was sitting at his desk, reading the forms he had gotten from the scientists who had been involved with the human prisoner.

Well, she both technically was and technically wasn't a prisoner; she was still here in Sanguinem as a prisoner of war – the war which Krul had declared mere days ago – yet Mika had released her from the dungeon and was now keeping her as a…well, as a "ward," so to speak. At least for the time being.

Earlier, he had summoned a doctor to take a look at her, as well as two women doctors to bathe her and dress her in clean garments.

 _ **\- 1 hour earlier -**_

The older male vampire stood over the human girl who was lying on the bed. He was dressed in very much what Mika imagined a regular human doctor would wear: white scrubs and hat, complete with a stethoscope that hung around his neck. Some of the tools Mika recognized, while there were others he had never seen before. Granted, he had only been in the human-run world for his first eight years, and vampires had more advanced technology than they did.

It had been surprisingly easy to find the older vampire and get him to come with him, after explaining that he had a sick human he wanted him to look at. Apparently, it didn't take much arm-twisting after all.

The man had recognized him, of course – everyone in Sanguinem did, practically, who had spent any amount of time with Krul, and the doctors were subject to an inspection every now and again, to make sure they were doing their jobs correctly or to receive new orders. Mika had found him in a section near the blood-collecting facility – he'd had to skirt past young children on his way there, many of them lined up just has he had years ago, and boy was that not a sight that was easy to stomach – simply approaching the first man in uniform he had seen.

As he did, Mika had spied two women doctors to his right, farther into the room. Going to them would have been preferable, of course, but those two were having meal and chatting over glasses of blood – probably on lunch break or something like that – and he couldn't interrupt that, especially not since their patient would be a human. Asking them would have to wait.

So, for now, the male vampire would have to do. The doctor had given the teen a once-over, looking him up and down, and once Mika had finished telling what he wanted, simply nodded and followed after him.

"Thank you for coming." Mika had said as a polite formality when they stepped into the room.

"Of course," the man had answered. He had then gone to work.

The doctor was now rechecking the girl's temperature, calculating her pulse, opening her mouth and checking for swelling or redness, listening to her breathing, and various other things that, since Mika had no medical knowledge whatsoever, save for the very basics that were common to everyone, were lost on the blue-eyed boy.

The raven-haired girl was still asleep. The red blanket had been taken off of her to give the doctor better access, and now was in a haphazard heap on the bed to her right. If the older vampire had realized the human was dressed in a military uniform, he didn't comment or give any indication.

She didn't stir at all as the man worked, although her breathing hitched and her brow creased minutely every now and then, as if something unseen were causing her discomfort.

Finished, the male vampire stepped away. "She has a high fever of 39.5°C. No sign of bacteria or viruses, although she does have an abnormally high white blood cell count; it seems as if her body is having an allergic reaction to something foreign that somehow entered her system. She has quite a bit of bruising, but those are nearly healed, so they are nothing to worry about. She is also very dehydrated." The man looked at Mika. "Will you be the one providing her with care?"

There was a simpler way to say all that, but Mika supposed doctors were all the same in that regard, whether they were human or vampire.

Mika nodded. "Yes."

The doctor leaned down, reached into his bag, and pulled out a transparent, pink-colored bottle with measurement markings along the sides. "This is medicine to bring down the fever and keep her immune system from being overworked." The man handed the medicine to Mika, and the teen took it from him and set the bottle down on the nightstand. "She is to be given the indicated amount every two hours, for as long as the symptoms persist. Make sure she drinks plenty of fluids, as well. If her condition worsens, you know where to find me."

Mika nodded again. "Yes. Thank you."

The doctor hummed in reply, picked up his bag, and left the room.

When the door snicked shut, Mika turned back to the prone form on the bed. He picked up the bottle of medicine and read the label carefully, before unscrewing the cap. It would be easier to wait and do this when the girl was awake, but there was no telling when she should wake up, and Mika didn't want her to get worse in the meantime; her fever was already higher than it had been when he had checked it himself in the prison cell.

No; she needed the medicine now.

Mika slid his free arm underneath the ill human's neck and shoulders, so that her head was resting in the crook of his elbow. As she was unconscious, he would have to take extra care for her not to choke. Propping her up into a semi-sitting position, Mika put the bottle against the girl's lips, which opened slightly at the contact, and poured the dose of medicine into her mouth.

Much to Mika's relief, the girl swallowed reflexively when the liquid pooled at the back of her throat, although she grimaced slightly in her sleep at the taste. The blue-eyed teenager gingerly laid her back down on the bed and white fluffy pillow – which, from the dirt and grease in the girl's hair, wasn't so white anymore – and slowly slid his arm out from underneath her.

Both hands now free, he screwed the top back onto the medicine bottle and placed it back on the nightstand, his gaze finding the plastic water container. It would be best to go ahead and give the girl more water now, too. He opened the container and repeated the process as when he gave her the medicine, except this time, there was no grimace on the girl's features.

Lowering her back down once more, he replaced the lid on the water container and put it back on the nightstand, next to the medicine. His eyes glanced up to the clock on the wall. _(Those doctors should be finished by now.)_

Now that a doctor had seen her and she had been given medicine, the human really needed a bath and change of clothes. He would need to get the clothes beforehand, though.

Mika debated for a moment. He could get a simple livestock uniform dress to clothe her in, minus the collar and bands, of course. Or, he could get some regular clothes, perhaps some pajamas that other vampires sometimes wore when they felt like sleeping, even though they didn't really need to sleep.

Dressing the girl in a livestock uniform might stave off unwanted attention that had the potential to be attracted otherwise. But Mika wanted her to be comfortable, and it wasn't as if she was going to be wandering around, anyway. She was in his care, so technically he could clothe in whatever he wanted without raising too many questions. And if there were any questioning, well…he was a weird vampire, after all.

That settled it, then.

After tucking the girl in the blanket, Mika went clothes hunting and found what he was looking for: a set of pajamas, just about the right size. They were a white pajama shirt and pants. A little frilly, but not too fancy.

Now that that was done, he just had to ask those two women doctors he had seen earlier, or others, if he couldn't find them.

 _ **\- Present -**_

He had found the same women doctors from before, now finished with their meal. It had taken some verbal arm wrestling and a mention of his status in relation to Krul to get them to come with him. Which both surprised and didn't surprise him, what with how easily the male doctor had come with him and Mika's first thoughts about having to twist the doctor's arms to look at ill livestock.

The two of them had trailed close behind him, side-by-side, as he'd led them through the streets, into his living quarters, and to the bedroom where the girl was kept. Mika had instructed them to bathe her in the adjoining bathroom – _"Be gentle with her,"_ – and then dress her in the pajamas that he had previously folded on the foot of the bed, to the far right of where the girl was laying.

The women had nodded and said various versions of "Yes, sir." Then one had untucked the human from the blanket, narrowing her eyes for a moment but making no comment on the girl's uniform, and scooped her up in her arms, cradling her as one would an infant, while the other doctor had taken the folded clothes. Mika had watched them until the bathroom door shut.

Afterwards, he had gone and gotten the file on the information that was currently known about the girl. He had gotten the expected sideways looks, but no one had argued with him, and he was given the forms without complaint.

Being the vampire queen's "pet" was worth something, he supposed.

He now sat at his desk, flipping through the pages. There really wasn't much to go on. A few bits of information he already knew, and a few others he hadn't known but weren't much use to his mission. Or that least, didn't seem to be at the moment. Mika read over the pages one more time, filing the information away in his mind, just in case it revealed itself to be important later.

 _Name : Unknown_

 _Gender : Female_

 _Age : Unknown, mature adolescent; Est. 16 – 18 years_

Huh. That was a surprise. The girl looked younger; if Mika had reasoned a guess, he would have said she was about fourteen, simply from her appearance and petite stature.

 _Status : Member of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army; Rank: Corporal_

If the vampires didn't even know her name, how did they know her military rank?

 _(Probably from her uniform.)_ Mika reasoned. He read on.

 _ **Blood Test Results**_

 _Blood Type : O -_

 _Viral Infections : negative_

 _Bacterial Infections : negative_

 _Blood Diseases : negative_

 _Autoimmune Diseases : Eczema_

 _(That's probably what those rashes are from. I wonder why the doctor didn't mention them. Maybe he knew what they were already and thought they weren't anything to worry about. I'll have to find out what that is, exactly, so I know what should be done about it.)_ His eyes then jumped to the next line.

 _Allergies : Strawberries_

 _(Okay, so I won't offer her any of those.)_ Not that Mika could remember the last time he actually saw a strawberry.

 _Seraph Gene : positive; inactivated_

 _Evidence of Receiving Experimentation : positive _

Those last two lines caused Mika to grit his teeth in anger. How dare those horrible humans….

But that was the very thing that gave him the chance to find Yuu in the first place: the girl being in the same situation as they were, Mika reflected, cutting off the first train of thought. He shook his head to clear it. He needed stay calm about this, however hard it may be.

A knock on the door pulled the teen from his musings, and he looked up from the paper, turning his head toward the sound. He settled the file neatly on his desk, then got up and opened the door. Greeting him on the other side was one of the women doctors.

"The human has been washed and redressed." The woman informed him, her tone surprisingly pleasant.

Although, perhaps it was not so surprising. The walls of the building were not thick enough to block a vampire's super-human hearing, and the sounds from the bathroom next door had seeped in to his bedroom. For half an hour, up until about fifteen minutes ago, Mika had had to hear the women titter about how "cute" this livestock child was, and how it was a shame, really, that it was ill, and that it had to be kept in a dark, underground place such as here. It appeared not all women lost their sentimental-ness once they became vampires.

"Do you want her old clothes cleaned, or discarded?" The doctor in front of him continued.

It would be best to keep them, if the girl was going to help him find Yuu among those in the military. "Washed and returned." Mika answered.

"Very well."

"And how is the human doing?"

"She's sleeping in the bedroom now."

"Thank you," Mika answered. "You and your partner may go."

Being dismissed, the doctor bowed respectfully, then went on her way.

Shutting the door, Mika turned back to his desk to put the forms away, hiding them in a drawer, underneath other papers and items. He would at some point return them to the people he had gotten them from, but in the meantime, Mika didn't want the cleaning staff, or any snooping vampire – _such as Ferid;_ he wouldn't put it past that creep to wander into his quarters and stick his nose where it did not belong – to find them.

File secure, Mika left his bedroom to go check on the human girl. It was about time to give her the medicine again, anyway.

* * *

When Kyali awoke, she was laying on something soft. The relaxing coolness of the water was gone. Instead, something soft and warm was wrapped around her, covering her feet and tucked over her shoulders.

She blinked open her eyes; they weren't so heavy anymore, and she didn't have to struggle with the action. Right after she did, there was something hard underneath her head and shoulders, and Kyali felt her upper half being lifted. Through her blurry vision, she could see a pink bottle, and a person with blond hair.

The bottle was pressed to her lips, and the contents poured into her mouth. Her tongue curled at the disgusting taste, and she grimaced and turned her head to the side to get away from it.

"I know it tastes bad, but you need it to bring down your fever." A male voice said, his tone coaxing.

It was the same voice as before, that soothed her nerves and reassured her, telling her not to be afraid, when she was given water and her chains were broken.

A shift in movement underneath her turned her head back to front-facing, and the liquid was tipped into her mouth again. This time, she didn't turn her head away, though Kyali still grimaced as she swallowed the foul-tasting substance. The owner of the voice told her that she had a fever, and that she needed this to bring her temperature down. It would be foolish to refuse it.

Luckily, she didn't have to force down much. The bottle was soon pulled away, and her upper body was lowered back onto the soft surface – a bed, her mind told her. She registered that the surface underneath her head felt softer and plushier; it must be a pillow.

She heard a quiet, plastic screwing noise and a quiet thud on her left; the person…no, the boy, because that's what he was – with a high chance of being a vampire, but Kyali didn't want to think about that – must have closed the medicine bottle and set it down off to the side.

 _(Where am I?)_ The raven-haired girl wondered. _(Am I still with the vampires?)_ A rescue wasn't exactly plausible, given the nature of the vampires being so overpowering to humans, and the fact that no one had seen her be taken. But if she was still with the vampires, would she be treated so well as she was being treated now?

She was about to ask, when her upper body was being lifted again, and a liquid – water this time – was put against her lips. Remembering her thirst that the medicine did very little to sate, Kyali sipped the water greedily, relishing at the cool stream that filled her mouth and ran down her throat.

There was no protest when the water was taken away; with the water and the medicine, even though the latter was a small amount, she didn't think her stomach could handle anything else, and she really wasn't thirsty anymore.

"Where…?" She tried again to ask. But talking was more effort than she thought it would be, and her voice came out a soft whisper, slightly raspy from disuse.

"Shhh," the boy hushed her, and she felt cool fingers on her forehead. "You need to rest. Save your questions for later. You're safe. Just sleep for now."

It was true; she was tired, and the speaking attempt just sapped at her meager energy supply more. She closed her eyes and sighed, the muscles exhausted from being held open, and not long after, her awareness slipped away.

* * *

Soft breathing filled the room. Mika sat in the chair he had pushed next to the bed. He brushed at the girl's hairline idly, watching her as she slept. The girl was breathing much easier now, deeper, especially now in the natural way that came with sleep, and no longer labored.

Her fever had lowered a little bit after the bath, and after the fourth dose of medicine, had lowered a bit more. She had been awake for it, and seemed more coherent than last time; she even tried to ask a question, though the effort seemed to exhaust her. She had not protested Mika's urgings to rest, and she had fallen asleep moments afterward.

The progress was slow going, though; her fever was still high: 38.4°C. A few minutes ago, not long after the ill human had fallen back to sleep, Mika had gone to the bathroom and wet a washcloth under the sink tap, ringing out the excess water. He'd then come back to the room and laid the damp rag on the human's forehead.

Hopefully that would help.

It was still a little while before he had to drink, and report to Krul – he couldn't disappear for long before she wondered of his whereabouts. And he couldn't push himself to his limit like he often did. Not with a human under his care.

He sat there a bit more, listening to the sound of the human breathing, her soft, now clean hair under his fingertips. He wondered, for a moment, what would happen if – _when_ – he found Yuu. What would happen to the girl; if she would stay with them, become a new family member – though he wasn't quite sure if that idea appealed to him or not. Still, using her and then abandoning her just would not do.

It was too early to think about that.

Finally, Mika got up out of his chair. With one last glance at the sleeping figure of the girl, he left the room and locked the door.

* * *

Of course he would run into Ferid Bathory. Why wouldn't he?

And, also of course, with the snooping creep he was, being especially insistent on tormenting Mika in whatever possible way he could find to do so, he had somehow found out about the human Mika was keeping.

That vampire's name ought to be turned into a curse word, Mika thought with conviction. Describing only the most disgusting, filthy, horrid of things in existence.

"Oi, Mi- _kaaa_!" The older man called to him, coming up beside the younger male as he walked. He lowered his voice, as if he were entrusting to Mika a treasured secret. "I heard you were keeping a human in your chambers. It wouldn't happen to be the prisoner that was brought in a day ago, would it?"

"' _You heard'_?" Mika deadpanned, keeping his face neutral. "And where did you hear that from?"

Ferid didn't answer the question. "Or," the man continued, "could it be that you finally caved in to your thirst for human blood? Drinking from the source is illegal, you know, but of course I'm in no position to rat you out, so I would look the other way. You can tell _me_."

The two reached an incline on the stone street. Whirling around, his cloak twirling with the movement, Mika held up a hand, palm facing out, as if to ward off the vampire below him.

"You shouldn't believe everything you hear, Ferid." Mika stated. "And what I do is none of your business." He turned and stalked off.

"Now, Mika, is that any way to treat your greatest admirer?" Ferid continued to speak, following after the teen. Mika gave no reply, and Ferid, seeing where the boy was headed, finally stopped trailing him.

Although it probably wouldn't do much good against Ferid, Mika was grateful that he had locked that door.

* * *

 **-Author's Note-**

 **So I THINK I edited out all the typos in this one...I hope so. Woo, it's longer than I expected it to be.**

 **I've also fixed a continuity error in chapter 4.**

 **Disclaimer: I still do not own Seraph of the End.**

 **For those who don't use the metric system, 38.4 degrees Celsius is about 101 degrees Fahrenheit, and 39.5 degrees Celsius is about 103 degrees Fahrenheit.**

 **Question to you readers: I'm thinking about doing profiles on Kyali and Hanai'ame-Rin. Is that something you would like to read?**

 **Reviews and questions are always welcome!**

 **'Til next time,**

 **Sky**


	6. We Are Not Enemies

A scream echoed through the void. Blood splattered against heated pavement, red pooling on black asphalt.

 _Chiori!_

Five monsters, red eyes gleaming like demonic creatures of the night. But this was the day time, the sun shining bright and burning down on them. They did not belong here, unnaturally crawling out from their underground lair to invade the territory – the _home_ – of humanity.

Another scream – deeper, hoarser.

 _Akimamoru!_

 _Thud. Splat._

Panic filled her veins, coursing through them like rivers of lava. Her grasp on her weapon tightened in her shaking hand, and she placed herself in front of the fallen, beside those still standing.

In the path of the monsters.

Their eyes glowed and their mouths widened, showing off parallel sharp, white fangs – shining blades meant and set to devour. Menacing laughter mocking the weak ones who would stand up to them, as if to say " _You cannot withstand us. You cannot escape."_

More red painted the air and fell to the ground. Wails and shouts vibrated through the atmosphere, punctuated by scrapes and clangs.

Pain seared like fire, metal biting through flesh like butter. White blinded her vision. A high pitched ringing chased out all sound.

Black. Then a chaotic haze of peach and porcelain and tan, black and green, and angry red. Hands grabbing and pushing.

A desperate, shrill cry. _Go! Run away! I'll hold them off!_

But they did not run away. Whether they chose not to or the monsters did not let them, it could not be told. The ancient creatures of the night pounced on the young citizens of the day. Hands turned into claws, faces became snarling, dripping snouts, skin became fur. Claws and teeth tore through flesh, and fear-filled and agonized screams and shrieks were the only sounds that existed. Black and green and brown were swallowed by red.

The monsters chased after her, and she ran. She did not make it far before her feet would no longer move. They just stopped, as if frozen, rooted in place by some unknown force or invisible restraint.

The street disappeared, replaced by an infinite world of black in all directions. All that she could see was herself.

Wide eyes looked downward, to the tip of a blade protruding out from her chest. Trembling hands lifted; they were covered with blood. The deep red liquid coated her skin completely, though there were no wounds from which it could be coming from, dripping from her hands and body in large droplets.

Then she was facing upward from the ground. A furred demonic creature had morphed into human shape once more, and filled her vision. It looked down upon her, looming over her, white teeth, luminescent in the field of black, grinning down, and it held a bloody, dripping sword directly above her, the tip of it pointing down and ready to stab.

The monster's voice echoed in her ears.

 _Did you really think you could do something?_

The sword plunged down, impaling her. A long, loud shriek pierced through the darkness.

Then, nothing.

 _In its owner's slumber, a hand gripped one belonging to a blue-eyed halfling. After a breath, the hand gripped back._

* * *

The human girl's fever refused to leave. By mid-morning of the next day, it had significantly lowered so that it was no longer cause to worry, but Mika could still feel the unnatural heat that emanated from the girl's skin when he touched her forehead with ungloved fingers. At least the medicine was working, albeit frustratingly slowly.

Her clothes had gotten damp with sweat during the night. He'd had to call the women doctors again to bathe her again and change her into a fresh set of pajamas, which, to Mika's relief, was not hard to find.

The girl had not woken up, at least not while he was there, since yesterday evening. Nor did she move in her sleep; each time he had come to check on her, she had been in the exact same position as the previous time.

Well, that was not entirely true. The girl had moved, slightly and only once, when he had been sitting beside her during the night. He had decided not to think much of it, simply returning the gesture until the fingers had loosened of their own accord.

After giving her more medicine and water, the blue-eyed vampire now sat beside the bed – he had not yet put the chair back in its original place -, watching the human as she slept soundly. He wondered what kind of dreams she was having, if any.

 _(I hope she recovers soon.)_

Mika knew he had to be patient, but part of him was chomping at the bit to be able to go ahead and just ask the girl – to explain the situation to her, and find out whose side she was on.

Of course, she would be on the human's side for now. As much as he hated the humans for what they were doing to their own kind, how greedy, how manipulative the race was, he couldn't blame the girl who was now sleeping on the bed in front of him.

The vampires certainly weren't people she could side with, monsters as they were, how they had no qualms with slaughtering humans and treating them like animals fit for nothing but being their food. She was a human as well, and it was neither wise nor desired to be a loner in this cruel, death-ravaged world. The girl didn't have a choice.

But Mika would now provide her with a new one. He didn't want to be enemies with this girl. Despite that fact that he was a vampire – which made him an enemy by default, in human eyes – by all intents and purposes, he and this girl were not. They both had been used and wronged by humans. They were allies in that.

At least, that's what Mika hoped.

It would have to wait, though, until the girl was better. Maybe his taking care of her would open her up more to trusting him. Not that it was the reason he was doing so, but it would a nice secondary result, Mika thought.

Speaking of which.

He still needed to go do some research on this "eczema" that the forms said this girl had. The rashes on her skin didn't look particularly bad, at least not to him, and he had to make sure it stayed that way. He took one last look at the human girl before getting up from the chair and turning towards the door.

 _(Better get on that.)_

* * *

Kyali opened her eyes as full awareness returned to her. She was lying down on a bed, positioned on her back on top of the bedspread. A soft, red blanket covered her body, and with a brief inspection, Kyali realized she was no longer in her military uniform. Instead, she wore what appeared to be white pajamas, with long pants and a long sleeve shirt, which had frills around the ankles, wrists, and collar.

The majority of the fog in her mind had lifted, but some still lingered, an insistent veil of haziness that refused to go away. But at least she was awake enough this time to have a better look at where she was.

Still too tired to really move, she let her eyes wander around the room, and quietly took in her surroundings. She was in a bedroom, if the fact that she was in a bed was anything to go by, and it certainly didn't look like a cell. The room was far too furnished for that; there was a clock high on the wall directly in front of her, and a quick scan from left to right revealed a nightstand with an electric lamp, as well as a few comfortable-looking armchairs in the corners.

Just where _was_ she?

However, there was a more immediate matter that reared its head.

Her ankles _itched_. Itched like _mad_ , so much it was an overwhelming feeling, that called for her to scratch them right now. The skin on them was so dry, the rashes that encompassed them even more so, and they had no problem rudely letting her know. She whimpered the sensation, and moved to do something about it – the only thing she really could do.

She knew she should ignore it, lessons of _don't scratch it, it will only make it worse_ having been drilled into her brain over the years. But she had to; it was just too _much_.

Kicking off the blanket from around her feet, Kyali struggled to lift herself into an upright position. Her body was still very weak, and it was harder than it should have been to perform the simple action.

With quite a bit effort and a series of grunts, she finally succeeded in sitting up, bracing herself on the bed with her right hand and reaching with her left. The red fabric of the blanket slipped off her torso and folded haphazardly in her lap.

Finally, fingers reached red, dry skin, and she scratched at the itchiness desperately. Her fingernails were long, jagged, and broken from lack of grooming – she really should have cut and filed them before patrol that day, but that was neither here nor there – and from clawing at the stone tiles when she was fevered in the prison cell.

So aggressive was she with her attempts to calm the itching that skin scraped off her ankles and collected under her nails as she scratched one, then the other. She couldn't help but pant in relief as she dug into her rashes. Where she scratched, the rashes began to bleed, a small amount of blood welling from the shallow wounds. It smeared small lines along her skin and tinted the dead cells under her nails with red.

The incessant itching finally came to a stop. Kyali pulled her hand away from her bleeding ankles, sitting back up and wincing at the sight of the wounds she had made and blood underneath her fingernails. Scratching felt wonderful while she had been doing it, but now her rashes stung and ached.

Arms feeling wobbly and worn out, her vision swam slightly, and she felt dizzy from the sudden exertion. She had to lay back down. She closed her eyes for brief moment and lowered herself back onto the pillow.

To the raven-haired girl's dismay, the relief did not last for long. Just a few moments later, her right ankle started to itch again, with the same ferocity as the first time just seconds before. She let out a punctuated groan in frustration. Tired out already, she simply bent her knee to bring her ankle to her hand. Her jagged fingernails dug once more into dry skin, on an unwounded spot that soon turned bloody as well.

The door swung open suddenly. In marched a blonde teenage boy wearing a strange, white military-style uniform and cloak, trailed by two women dressed in what seemed to Kyali to be white doctor uniforms. The women's red eyes flashed in her direction, revealing them to be vampires. So she was still with the vampires.

That was a worry to dwell on more fully in-depth later. Right now, her ankles _burned_ badly and still _itched_. She had frozen for a split-second at the opening of the door, but now she went back to scratching at the rash.

The boy vampire took one look at the damage and barked an order to the women in Japanese, and the two immediately went to the foot of the bed, getting out from a bag what looked to be cloth bandages and other things. One reached and took a hold of Kyali's right ankle and pulled it from the girl's frantic scratching, while the second woman started treating the left ankle.

"No!" Kyali whimpered weakly, her voice catching on a small, dry sob. She tried to bend her knees and pull her ankles free from the female vampires' grasp, and reached her hands toward them to _stop_ the _horrible itching_. But the vampires' hold was strong, and her struggling did nothing to loosen their grip as they continued their ministrations. She hissed in pain.

It _hurt_.

The reasonable part of her brain knew that they were only cleaning and tending to the wounds she had given herself. But reason was drowned out by the feeling of burning and how even the slightest of touches against her raw skin was painful.

White clothing came into Kyali's view. The blonde vampire had come closer to her and now caught her wrists in his hands. He lifted himself onto the bed, right knee bracing on the edge then swinging the left knee over her body to settle on her other side. He sat on top of her, straddling her waist and blocking Kyali's view of the women working at her feet and redirecting her focus to himself.

The boy rested one of her arms on her stomach and held it there with his forearm. He then took her other hand in his, and with his own bare hands and nails, began clipping Kyali's fingernails. Not bothering with the blood and dead skin caked underneath, he broke them little by little, in small increments, in a curved line at the quick; not too far to be painful, but short enough that it rendered her nails utterly useless.

Once the nail completely snapped off, he deposited it on the pant leg of this thigh and moved on to the next finger.

Ankles mostly, though not quite, forgotten, – she could still feel them being wiped off and then coated with something, which made her wince and grit her teeth as the burning sensation intensified – Kyali watched him as the vampire boy carefully clipped her nails. The grip in which he held her hand and pinned down her other arm was light. Kyali blinked slowly as it occurred to her how gentle he was being, and she couldn't help but question it. It confused her; it didn't make sense.

"Why are you being so kind to me?" The girl asked softly, her voice still weak from disuse and tiredness.

There was a pause where the boy didn't answer. He silently finished clipping her ring finger, then her pinkie finger. Finished with that hand, the blonde set it down on Kyali's stomach and moved on to the next hand, picking it up with an equally gentle grasp. Then, in a low, quiet voice, he spoke.

"Why should I not be kind to you?"

…what kind of question was that? The answer was obvious, wasn't it?

"Because…we're enemies."

Another pause. He focused intently on clipping the nail of each finger, his eyes not moving from his task. As he did, Kyali could feel her ankles being wrapped in something that felt like soft, cool, silky cloth. When he was finished with her second hand, he laid it down to rest next to its counterpart.

He then looked her in the eyes, and Kyali was almost startled by the brilliant blue, even though she had seen them before this moment. When he opened his mouth to speak, his fangs showed, leaving no doubt that he, too, was a vampire.

"We are not enemies."

The boy then brushed the nail clipping off of his thigh and into his cupped hand, and climbed off her.

"Wha…?" Kyali began to ask, completely and utterly startled.

 _("Not enemies"?)_ What did he mean? How could they not be, with the vampires terrorizing humans and treating them like cattle, on top of which rested the fact that there was a _war_ going on between their kinds.

She ended up just blinking at him, dumbfounded beyond words.

The female vampires came into Kyali's view once again. They had finished treating the rashes on her ankles, and they were now just standing at the foot of the bed, presumably awaiting further instructions. The blond vampire said something to them, which Kyali took as him dismissing them, since after nodding and saying something back, one picked up a bag and both left the room. The door shut quietly behind them.

The vampire boy watched them leave, and wiped the fingernail clippings into something that's hidden on the other side of the nightstand - a trashcan, Kyali assumed. He then came back and sat on the edge of the bed, turning his head to look at her.

"How are you feeling?" He gestured with his head toward her now-wrapped ankles. "Does it hurt?"

"It stings." Kyali answered, her voice little above a whisper. The rashes and wounds on her ankles stung and throbbed dully with uncomfortable heat, but that was something she had grown accustomed to, having lived with that condition for as long as she could remember. The burning was bearable now, and would go away with time.

At least they weren't bone dry anymore, and no longer itched.

"I'm sorry." The boy said, his tone sincere.

Kyali managed a small smile at his unexpected show of genuine concern. "It's alright. I'm used it."

The blond vampire gave a slow, slight nod. "How else are you feeling?"

Her reasoning kicked back into gear at the question. She figured he was asking about her other physical ailments – she'd had a fever, she remembered, and had been dehydrated and hazy-minded.

"I'm okay. Just tired." She replied.

He nodded again. "That's good. Are you hungry? Thirsty?" Kyali shook her head minutely against the pillow. The only thing she felt right now was tired.

"Well, you still have a slight fever." He stated. The blond vampire rested the backs of his fingers softly against her forehead for a moment, before pulling them away.

"My name is Mikaela. You can call me Mika. What's your name?"

…she was pretty sure "Mikaela" was a girl's name. She refrained from commenting on it, though. There was a high chance he had been teased about it as a child – however long ago that had been for him. In either case, she didn't want to do the same.

"I'm Kyali." She answered.

The vampire boy, Mika, nodded. "Kyali," he repeated. "I'm glad to meet you, Kyali." His tone was soft and sincere.

Kyali could not say the same, given the circumstances, so she just gave him a tiny smile in return.

"Get some rest, Kyali." Mika said, before moving to get up from the bed. "I will return soon."

"W-wait." She called out quickly, surprising herself. Mika stopped and turned to look over his shoulder. "You said…we aren't enemies. How…?"

The blue-eyed vampire directed his gaze downward for a moment, pupils moving back and forth as if he were thinking about something. He then sighed, looked back up, and gave her a small smile.

"I'll explain later. For now, just get some rest, alright?"

Kyali nodded. Rest sounded good. She could already feel her eyes getting heavy with sleep. She watched his back as he left the room, the door closing and locking with a series of clicks.

 _(…he's a weird vampire.)_

* * *

 **-Author's Note-**

 **And here's another chapter. They finally are introduced to each other!**

 **Yes, that was a nightmare. Poor Kyali.**

 **...and no one answered the question about the profile thing.**

 **I do not own Seraph of the End, whether it be the comic or the manga, in any way at all.**

 **Please leave me your comments and questions.**

 **Until next time,**

 **Sky**


	7. Livestock

**Important:**

"English dialogue."

" **Japanese dialogue.** "

 _"Past dialogue in either language."_

And now, to chapter 7!

* * *

The girl's – Kyali – fever broke not long after dawn. Not that Mika could see it; he could only tell by the time on the bedroom clock, taking into account the time of year for his calculated guess.

He sat in his usual spot by her bedside, having moved the chair again next to the bed. Every now and then Kyali's breathing would hitch, her brows creased.

 _(She's probably having another nightmare.)_ Mika thought. It seemed she was having them a lot lately, if her whimpers – rare, but still occurring – and agitated movements were anything to go by.

But at least she wasn't ill anymore. That fever had been a stubborn one. It had taken nearly three days, along with two bottles of medicine, two baths, and several wet washcloths on her forehead – not at the same time, of course – to finally bring the human's temperature down.

That night, Mika had stood – well, sat – watch over her. Kyali's temperature had risen again, from a mild fever to bordering on high. When it had, Mika had dampened a washcloth in the bathroom sink, ringing out the excess water, and laid it across the girl's forehead. Every once in a while, like he had before, he would wipe the rag gently over her forehead and cheeks, hoping to cool the heated skin and wipe off some of the sweat.

He had also gotten her a new blanket, exchanging the old one. It was also red – vampires couldn't get enough of the color, apparently.

Using the thermometer that he kept on the nightstand, Mika would check Kyali's temperature every half an hour or so. Just a few moments ago, he'd picked up the device and pressed it against the human girl's ear.

It was normal.

Mika sighed in relief.

He hoped whatever her body was fighting off was gone, and would not return.

She didn't need that washcloth anymore. Mika tossed it into the hamper in the bathroom. When he came back, Kyali had calmed, and her sleep looked peaceful.

He sat back down in the armchair. Krul would want to know how the human was doing, he Mika was sure, now that her condition had greatly improved.

Kyali would probably be hungry, too, once she woke up. The girl hadn't eaten in days. He knew that fevers tended to kill one's appetite, and now that hers was gone, it should come back with full force.

He would have to get her something to eat. Mika remembered that for one who had gone a while without eating, thin broth was best, as to not upset their stomach. Though he would have to ask if she was hungry, first, once she woke up. She should be, but that was no guarantee. Either way, he would have food ready for her.

And _rats._ He had patrol duty today.

Mika glanced up at the clock. He still had time to go talk to Krul.

The door shut behind the sound of the girl's soft breathing, punctuated by the click of a lock.

* * *

Kyali startled awake with a sharp gasp.

 _(That dream again….)_ There were some variations each time, but it always had the same horrid scenario – her friends screaming as they died, human-shaped vampires morphing into animal-shaped monsters, and _so much blood._

Her breathing was panicked and erratic, and salty water droplets built up in her eyes. She hurriedly rolled over and buried her face in the soft, white pillow, and cried. She clutched it tightly with a fist, and let the pillow soak up her tears.

The pillow muffled the noise as she sobbed into it brokenly. While she'd had that dream before, and quite recently, this was the first time she'd woken up afterwards. All of the other times she'd dreamed it, she drifted off into another dream, or into the void of dreamless sleep – enough for the vividness of it to fade and just be a barely-there impression of a memory by the time she woke up.

This time, Kyali was not so lucky, and the events of the nightmare remained clear and vivid, replaying in full-colored detail over and over again at the forefront of her mind.

 _(No…. I couldn't save them…._ Why? _)_

For a while, she'd been able not to think about it. To distract herself from their deaths by focusing on the present, of what was going on around her. But now, the reality of it hit her with full force, barging its way into her brain with twisted, gory nightmares, crashing grief down on her like a deluge.

Her friends were _gone._

Her friends, who stayed by her side, were there for her and supported her, who tried the best they could to include her, even with the language barrier.

Sabé, who was studying English so she could communicate with her.

Akimamoru, who was the big brother of them all.

Chiori, who was tougher than her frame would let on, and always ready with a smile.

Junya, who was overzealous in practically everything he did, which made him all the more endearing.

And she would _never see them again._

A deep sob racked her body. She had tried to help them, she had _tried._ But still they had been slain – _slaughtered,_ like animals, by creatures who viewed them as nothing but cattle, as livestock – who behaved no better than animals themselves. She hadn't been able to save them.

The image from her dream flashed through her mind – a bloodied, fanged monster looming down at her, grinning and mocking, _"Did you really think you could do something?"_ Kyali's grip on the pillow tightened, her knuckles turning white.

 _(I tried! I tried! I tried….)_

 _(Chiori…Sabé…Akimamoru…Junya…. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry!)_

Her sobbing grew louder, even muffled by the pillow. When she had pushed Sabé out of the path of a vampire that day, Kyali never thought it would be the last time she would ever touch her.

The white fabric was soaked now, her face uncomfortably wet from being pressed against the pillow. But she didn't bother to move, only pressed her forehead deeper into it.

Kyali continued to cry, harder than she had when she had been captured, or even when she was in the prison cell. Now she released all her grief, mourning for the people she had lost, until she had exhausted all her tears.

This time, there were no dreams.

* * *

Mika walked down the hallway and made his way to Kyali's room to check on the human. Patrol duty had been both dull and grating, as always, with Ferid and his antics, and the children always bringing back memories. Being back in his living quarters was a relief, and he felt he could now relax.

Mika paused with his hand on the doorknob. His vampire hearing picked up muffled sounds from inside the room, and he recognized them instantly. Sobbing.

The girl was crying.

He didn't know about what, but it wasn't hard for Mika to make a guess. There were many things for her to cry for.

He stood there for a moment, just listening to Kyali sob. Then, he took his hand off the doorknob, and turned away.

Let her have her privacy. He would check on her again in a little while. For now, Mika had some work he could do in his room.

* * *

She wasn't asleep for long, the minute hand on the clock only completing its path twice as she slumbered.

Kyali blinked awake, feeling surprisingly rested. She was still weak, and her body still felt heavy, but it was like a sense of peace hovered over her, and the haze that had tenaciously lingered over her mind and vision was completely gone.

But now she was _hungry._ Her stomach muscles cramped painfully, and it felt like her stomach was trying to eat itself. It occurred to Kyali that she couldn't remember how long it had been since she had last eaten. A few days, most likely. And her stomach was rudely reminding her that it was empty, and that it needed something in it _immediately_ , thank you very much.

Just as if he had read her mind, the door to her room opened, and Mika stepped in. He was still in the same clothes he was in when she had seen him last. It probably _was_ a uniform.

The vampire boy made eye contact with her, and, seeing that she was awake, gave her a small smile. Kyali thought it looked like a smile of one who wasn't quite accustomed to the action. She returned it with a small smile of her own.

He came to the chair that she now noticed was beside the bed – a quick glance confirmed that one of the corners that had previously been the chair's residence was vacant – and placed his hand, which was now clothed with a white glove, on the edge of the bedspread.

"Feeling better?" He asked her.

Kyali nodded. "Yeah. Thanks." Her voice was still soft and tired.

"Are you hungry?"

Straight to the point. Kyali was grateful for that. "Yes. Very."

Mika nodded, and seemed a little relieved. "Okay, then. I'll go get you something. I'll be right back." He got up from the chair and left the room, closing the door behind him with a soft thump.

True to his word, it was less than a minute later when Mika returned, a thermos in his hand. He sat back down in the armchair and placed the thermos on the nightstand.

"Here," Mika offered. "Something that will be light on your stomach, since you haven't eaten in a while. Can you sit up?"

Kyali hummed an affirmative. "How long have I been here?" She asked. It took some effort; her body still felt heavy, and her arms felt like half-cooked spaghetti, much to her chagrin. Mika helped out with a hand on her back, using his other hand to put some pillows behind her for support. Once she was settled, he took the thermos from the nightstand. Kyali lifted her hands in preparation as Mika unscrewed the lid.

"About three days," the blue-eyed teenager – or at least he looked like a teenager, but of course Kyali could not be sure – answered. _(Three days, huh?)_ No wonder she was so hungry.

Mika went to hand the open thermos to Kyali and placed in her outstretched hands. But her hands were shaky and also like the half-cooked spaghetti of her arms, the thermos nearly slipped from her fingers. Mika quickly caught it, wrapping his hands around her own to reinforce her grip.

The raven-haired girl was too embarrassed to say anything. She slowly lifted the thermos to her mouth, Mika's hands keeping their hold and following the thermos's travel as she took a sip. "Is it good?" He questioned.

It was some kind of thin chicken soup, is what it tasted like, and that small sip, along with the flavor now on her tongue, made her stomach even more eager. Sure it was somewhat bland by the standards of what one would have on their dining room table, but a lot of spices would not be good for her stomach, and hungry as she was, the plain chicken-y taste was certainly nothing to complain about. Kyali had to make a conscious effort not to chug down the entire contents of thermos all at once.

"Yes," she replied, nodding. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

With him showing her such gentle kindness, his hands wrapped around her own and helping her eat, it was easy to forget that Mika was a vampire. He didn't seem like the type of person to act like a monster, to think of humans as if they were nothing but animals, to be cruel and toy with them, like the ones who had murdered her squad.

And he had said that the two of them were not enemies. Kyali hoped he would give her an explanation for that soon.

"How are your ankles?" The momentary silence had fallen over them as she drank the warm broth was broken by Mika. Kyali swallowed what was in her mouth and paused, lowering the thermos slightly to look at her feet, which were not covered by the blanket.

Her ankles were still wrapped in strips of white cloth, which were evidently tight enough to not have slipped around when she moved. Even so, it wasn't uncomfortable – the cool, soft fabric had felt good, soothing, against her rashes when they were fevered and sore, and, Kyali had to admit, still felt nice now. The stinging was long gone, and it didn't itch at the moment. Not that she could do anything about if it did, courtesy of Mika.

"They're fine." She wiggled her feet a little as she spoke. "They aren't itching or stinging anymore."

"Good."

Kyali nodded and hummed in affirmation, continuing to drink her soup, savoring the taste. The stray thought entered her mind that Mika's hands were cool against her skin; any human's hands would have been sweaty by now, especially with those gloves he was wearing.

Several minutes passed with neither of one of them saying anything, the room being filled with the ticking of the clock and Kyali's swallowing as she ate the first meal she'd had in days.

In those minutes, she was done eating and had drained the thermos of its contents. She pushed the thermos back towards the vampire boy, humming a "yes" when he asked if she was finished. She then leaned back against the pillows, watching Mika as he screwed the top back on the container and placed it on the nightstand. Her stomach now filled to satisfaction, Kyali began to feel sleepy again. Which annoyed her; all she had done since she got here was sleep. But it couldn't be helped, she supposed. Her body needed time to recover from being sick.

Her eyes blink lethargically against her will, and Mika seemed to take the hint. "Get some rest," he instructed. "I'll come check on you again in a little while."

"Okay," the raven-haired girl replied, her voice just above a whisper. Her eyes fluttered closed.

She didn't hear Mika shut the door.

* * *

When Mika went to check on Kyali again an hour later, the girl was still asleep. He had spoken to Krul earlier that day, before his patrol shift. The vampire queen of Japan had been pleased when he told her the news that the human was no longer ill, and was on her way to recovery.

Of course, Krul had pretended to brush off the matter, saying nothing beyond an "oh, good, good," but Mika knew what she was thinking. He could tell just by the look in her eyes that she was satisfied that another one of "her seraphs" – which he was certain was how she thought of Kyali – was doing well. Mika couldn't imagine what exactly her obsession over them was, but he supposed he would find out sooner or later, if the details turned out to be important.

The pink-haired vampire had ended the conversation saying that she would have a meeting that day, and given Mika some extra vials for his blood supply, which the teen had stuck in his pouch.

 _(The meeting should be starting right about now.)_ He wondered what it was about. Surely not about the war; Mika didn't know much – didn't care to know, really; it didn't particularly concern him – about all the in-and-outs of the vampire leadership's politics, but one thing he did know was that Krul wouldn't want others of the progenitor council to know that a great part of Japan's human population had gotten out of hand on her watch. Such an occurrence being made wide-spread knowledge to the vampire world would not bode well for her position of power.

Speaking of the war. On his way back to his living quarters to check on the human this time, René and Lacus had run into him on the street. _"Oi, Mika! Haven't seen you in a while. Been in the city this whole time? We could use you out on the field, you know. Those humans are getting more and more troublesome."_

They had wanted to tell him in fuller detail about their adventures on the surface, insisting it wouldn't take long when Mika had told them that he was in a bit of a hurry. Both of them had followed him until he neared the street-side door that led to his chambers. Now they were waiting for him outside.

Mika wondered if they were that eager to talk to him, or if they just had nothing else to do now that they were on leave.

In any case, it wasn't like Mika had anything to do, either. Except sit with Kyali while she slept, which wasn't really necessary now, and the research he had tried to do in his room by reading the books he'd brought, hoping to learn more about the history of this whole "Seraph of the End" fiasco, had come up fruitless.

Shutting the door quietly as to not disturb the sleeping girl inside, Mika contemplated on locking the bedroom door. He usually always did when he went long distances, or if he would be gone a while. But he wasn't going far – less than a block, with the door to his quarters well within plain sight – and he wouldn't be gone very long. It would be safe to leave it unlocked this time.

* * *

Kyali awoke to her body's urgent call. She needed to go. _Right now._

She didn't know where the bathroom was, but there was a door on the other side of the room, to the right of her bed. She would try that. Hopefully, it was a bathroom. If it wasn't, well…

 _(If that turns out to be a closet or something, I am_ so _screwed.)_

Pushing the blanket off to the side, she struggled upright, pressing on through the fervent protests of her still-shaky muscles. She could _not_ take no for an answer.

She finally got her legs over the edge of the bed and underneath her, and rose up into a standing position, using a hand against the bed for support. Her legs were wobbly and quaked as she walked, but they held her weight. She made her way to the door, clinging to the edge of the bed and then to the wall. Reaching the door, she turned the knob and opened it, sighing in relief when she was that it indeed _was_ a bathroom.

She rushed inside and to the toilet as quickly as she could.

Once she was finished, Kyali stepped back into the bedroom, gripping the bathroom's doorframe for balance. Her legs were still wobbly, the muscles still weak, but they seemed to hold her weight better than when she had gotten out of bed just a few minutes ago, and were a little less shaky.

Maybe laying down for days had something to do with it; her legs were out of practice, and the short walk to and inside the bathroom, which was not much longer than four and a half meters, might have done good to remind them of their function.

She plopped herself down on the bed, her backside seated on the edge, supporting her back with her hands braced on the mattress. She wasn't tired at the moment; the food and nap had given her energy. Now that she was moving, some of her strength had returned, and she didn't feel like going back to bed, at least not for the time being.

Ten minutes later, the ceiling had four hundred and twenty-five tiles, the bedspread had one hundred changes of green-to-blue, and the armchairs' intricate and flourishing patters had been thoroughly traced.

Boredom settled over the raven-haired girl as she sat, listening to the clock tick and watching its hands jump along their circular path. She turned her head toward the door. She wondered what was outside this bedroom; if she had been taken to a house or something. It seemed logical.

Maybe she could take a look around; her legs would hold her up for a least a little ways, she was sure. Satisfy her curiosity.

The reasonable part of Kyali's brain knew that she probably shouldn't wander about. There was no guarantee that she was in an actual, closed-off house like regular human homes. This was a strange place, full of _vampires_ , and on top of that, she was still a prisoner here, and her captors probably wouldn't take kindly to finding her roaming. Not to mention that she had just been sick, and should be resting.

 _(Nah. It'll be fine.)_

She wouldn't go out for long, or too far. She just wanted to take a short look at her surroundings, and then come back. It wasn't as if she was traipsing around a dungeon full of guards, or trying to escape. Nothing bad should happen. And she could use the exercise.

Brushing her better judgement aside, she got up from the bed and balanced herself on the floor. Once she was certain she wasn't going to fall over, Kyali made her way towards the bedroom door, still keeping her hand on the edge of the bed to help support herself. She braced herself against the wall when she reached the door. The doorknob turned under her grasp.

Unlocked.

Opening the door a crack, Kyali poked her head out and took a peek, glancing from side to side. There was no one. The coast was clear. She stepped out into the empty hallway, leaning with her hand against the wall to keep herself from falling over as she slowly made her way forward.

It certainly did look like a house, with regular wooden door that presumably led to other bedrooms lining the hall. The place wasn't very decorated, though. Or at all, really. Everything – the walls, the ceiling, the floor – was pure white, with no break in the color.

All was silent as Kyali continued to wander around, the quiet sounds of her footsteps and breathing the only thing she could hear as she inched along the wall and took in her surroundings with passive curiosity.

 _(Make that a mansion.)_ This place was _huge_. Turning a couple of corners – making sure to note the route she took so she would be able to find her way back – the hallway widened out. The ceiling here was high above Kyali's head, and smooth, white pillars lined the pathway.

She traded the wall for the pillars, and let her eyes drift around the space. Nothing special here, besides the sheer size of the place. It was pretty, however, despite its simplicity; the architecture was extravagant, like that belonging to a palace.

Three minutes into her venturing, and Kyali was getting tired. She would go back to the room in a moment. She wanted to allow herself to stretch her legs, and to have some freedom and fresher air, just a little longer before returning to that small space.

Just seconds after she was thought that, a voice stopped her in her tracks, making her wandering eyes snap in to focus in its direction.

" **Well, well. What do we have here?** "

Kyali froze. She hadn't heard the slow clicking of footsteps, which now reached her ears quite clearly, so absorbed was she in her exploration. They belonged to a vampire. A strange vampire, coming straight towards her.

The vampire was male, and stood a good two heads taller than she did. His ashen-colored hair was pulled back with a ribbon into a long ponytail, and his fancy clothes looked like those an aristocrat would wear.

But most notable to Kyali was the vampire man's gleaming red eyes and small, fanged smile that bordered on a menacing smirk, causing the hair on the back of her neck to rise and sending shivers down her spine.

He walked slowly toward the raven-haired girl, who remain stalk-still. She knew it would be useless to try to run. Her legs were barely holding her up as it was; the muscles were already beginning to burn with the strain. Even if her legs could have managed running, it would do no good; the vampire would catch her in an instant.

The vampire in question kept walking in a slow, leisurely pace towards the frozen girl. As he did, he looked her up and down, noting that she was clothed in a nice pair of pajamas instead of a livestock uniform. " **So** _ **this**_ **is the little livestock Mika took in as a pet.** " He mused aloud.

Kyali, of course, couldn't understand, but she did pick out words, such as "livestock" and Mika's name.

It did nothing to comfort her.

" **Looks like he hasn't drunk from you,** " he noted, remembering how the boy's eyes were still their original sapphire. He was now almost right up to the girl. Red eyes met bark brown, and she took an involuntary step back, fingers curling into the pillar. " **Surely he wouldn't mind if I took a sip first.** "

With one swift movement, quick fingers, ice cold even through the gloves that covered them, grabbed Kyali by the shoulders, pulling down one side of her collar.

"Ah- _ah!_ " Searing pain pierced through her as sharp fangs bit into her shoulder, sending a bolt of agony from that spot down to her feet, and she cried out. Her body went rigid. Gulping and sucking sounds filled the girl's ears.

 _The vampire was sucking her blood._

Hot panic filled her veins, telling her to _run, run, no this can't happen!_ but she couldn't move, and the vampire's grip was as strong as iron.

The vampire pulled back for a moment, both startled and amused. " **Oh? Now, what's this?** " He murmured. The taste of the girl's blood was unmistakable. _(Don't tell me….)_ He licked at the blood leaking from the twin wounds, causing the girl beneath him to shudder. _(Hah. Well, how about that.)_ He then replaced his fangs back in the girl's shoulder, and continued his drinking.

Kyali yelped as she was bit into again, then let out a breathy gasp. A strange, pleasant feeling mingled with and almost drowned out the pain of the fangs embedded in her shoulder. The sensation was overwhelming, taking over her entire consciousness, and whimpers escaped from Kyali's lips, unbidden. "Nngh…ah…hnn…."

Strength gradually left her limbs, becoming weaker and weaker. Her knees gave out, and her legs curled underneath her. The only thing that kept Kyali upright as she hung there was the vampire's hold.

The vampire kept drinking her blood, swallow after swallow. Kyali's vision began to darken.

" _ **Ferid!**_ "

A familiar voice shouted through her haze. The grip on her shoulders let go, and she felt herself fall. There was a whoosh of movement, and arms caught her before she hit the floor. They lifted her bridal style and all but cradled her against their owner's chest, her head listlessly resting against his shoulder.

 _(Mika…?)_ Her vision was still black around the edges, and blurry, but Kyali could still make out white clothing and blond hair. And the voice was certainly his.

" **What do you think you're doing?** " Mika practically growled at Ferid. The younger vampire held the girl close to himself protectively.

" **Aww, don't be that way, Miii-** _ **kaaa-kun.**_ **I was just having a little taste of the livestock you've decided to keep. Although, I suppose I must admit I may have taken a bit too much….** " Even as he said so, there was no remorse or hint of regret in Ferid's words.

" **You almost** _ **killed**_ **her!** " Mika seethed. The girl was barely conscious, her breathing labored.

" **But it** _ **is**_ **so hard to control myself when I taste blood such as that one's. Her blood is** _ **so**_ **tasty.** **You really** _ **should**_ **try it. Ah, speaking of which….** ," Ferid's voice changed. Though still keeping its teasing tone, there was now an edge to it. " **She carries the same flavor that you had. Did you know she's a seraph like you are?** "

Mika's eyes said it all.

" **Ah, so you do.** " A short chuckle. " **That wouldn't happen to the be the reason you are keeping her, would it? And dressing her in such nice clothes, no less.** "

" **Leave her** _ **alone**_ **, Ferid."** Mika started to turn, indicating that the conversation was over.

The elder vampire ignored him. " **Helping the poor, livestock seraph. You've finally found someone else like you, besides your precious Yuu-chan, eh?** _ **Hyakuya Mikaela.**_ " With those parting words and Mika glaring at him, Ferid turned on his heel and went back the way he came.

" _ **Tch. That Ferid.**_ " Mika hissed under his breath. He began the trek back to the girl's bedroom. He wondered if Krul was done with her meeting yet; he would have to talk to her again today, as soon as he could. The older vampire now out of his hair, the teen redirected his attention to the human in his arms.

While most of the vampires' conversation went over Kyali's head, a few words stuck out.

Livestock.

Seraph.

Hyakuya.

( _"Hyakuya"?!)_ That name sent alarm bells ringing in Kyali's mind. What was more, it had been used as _part of Mika's name._ She knew that word, knew where it was from, what it represented. It wasn't a word, or name, just casually said or belonging to a family. So, then, why…?

No…. No way….

Her racing thoughts were interrupted by a voice above her. "Idiot." Kyali inwardly flinched at the insult, though she knew she _did_ deserve it – it wasn't exactly uncalled for. "You shouldn't wander around," Mika scolded. "It's _dangerous_ for you here. The vampires think of humans as nothing but livestock. And you were in no condition to be walking so much!"

"S-sorry…." She apologized, her voice weak and breathless from blood loss. Hunger gnawed at her, she felt cold, the fabric of her pajamas and Mika's clothes against her doing little to add warmth, and the world was fuzzy and gray. It was probably only thanks to her demon that she hadn't completely passed out yet.

A sigh, Mika's chest rising and falling beneath her. "Alright. Just don't do it again."

Kyali nodded against his shoulder. She mustered the strength to ask, "Livestock…do you think of me – of humans – that way…?" She was fairly sure she knew the answer. And there was the fact that he had said "the vampires." As if he wasn't part of them. _(Huh. Strange.)_

"No," the young man answered, confirming the raven-haired girl's thoughts. "I don't."

He was silent the remainder of the way as he carried Kyali back to the bedroom. As Kyali lay there, all but limp in his arms, her head resting against his shoulder and her body held against his chest, she couldn't help a nagging feeling, that there something disconcerting. It took her a moment to figure out what it was. Something she was used to hearing from others when they were this close, but was absent from Mika.

There was no heartbeat.

* * *

 **-Author's note-**

 **Hi all! Sorry for the delay. Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long.**

 **As always, comments and questions are welcome. And I don't own Seraph of the End.**

 **Thanks to everyone who favorited/followed and reviewed!**

 **'Til next time**

 **-Sky**


	8. Hyakuya - Family of A Thousand Nights

The girl passed out before they reached the bedroom. When awake, she had laid limply in his arms, eyes fluttering open every now and then, but mostly remaining closed.

Worry clenched in Mika's gut. He didn't know how much blood Ferid had drunk from her, but if it left Kyali on the edge of consciousness, and now unconscious, it must have been quite a lot. From what he'd heard from Lacus and René, the human soldiers of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army healed, because of their demon contracts, much faster than normal, and could stay on their feet with the amount of blood loss that would leave a regular human in critical condition.

But they had also mentioned that their demons had varying degrees of power. Mika hoped that Kyali's was powerful enough to keep her alive, and that this was nothing too serious.

Ferid's name _definitely_ should be turned into a curse word. One that parents washed their children's mouths out with soap for saying.

The red blanket had been tossed aside, and the bathroom door was open. It looked like she had woken up not long after he went to talk to René and Lacus.

This time, instead of laying her on top of the blankets, Mika adjusted his grip his charge and pulled down the bedspread, then lowered her onto the sheet and pillow before tucking the blanket over her small form.

Moving Kyali's hair aside with the tips of his fingers, Mika surveyed the bite wound. Two deep punctures marred the human's right shoulder. The punctures were still bleeding slightly, but it appeared that they had already begun to close. Still, the wound should be cleaned to not risk infection, and should be shielded from the air while it healed.

Mika rummaged in the bathroom for antiseptic and bandages, and went to work. After soaking a small cloth with antiseptic and wiping the remaining blood from the punctures, he dabbed ointment on them with a different cloth. He then covered the wound and secured it with a bandage.

Now that was done. Next, the girl needed to get something in her system to help replace the nutrients that she lost and help her body recover. He would get one of those energy drinks they gave to the livestock children, Mika decided, and some more food. She was bound to be hungry when she woke up.

* * *

 _Wshhhhhhhhhhhh._

 _Whaaahhhhhhhhh._

 _Wshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh._

The sound of waves voicing themselves as they washed and crashed against the beach's shoreline whistled in Kyali's mind. Hearing was the only sense she could access right now; her view was dark. Taste, touch, and smell were lost to her; they did not exist.

Not yet.

Smell returned next, like a lost child hurrying to their home. The crisp, but mellow, saltiness of the ocean's water filled the air, surrounding her.

It was like she was floating. Still in the shallows of sleep, yet she held a sliver of wakefulness, vaguely aware of the position of her body in reality. But that was not what was important right now. What took the main focus was the scene beginning to unfold itself in her mind's eye.

Then came sight, along with the voices.

A little girl, standing by a car, next to a woman who was far taller. The girl was no more than six years of age. She wore a school uniform, her long black hair done up in a ponytail. She stood idly by, shifting from one foot to another while the woman was leaning over into the car's passenger seat and shuffling with something.

"Mommy," the little girl asked, "where are we going?"

"We're going on a trip, dear." The voice of the woman came in answer.

"A trip? Where?" Excitement showed in the little girl's voice, and her face lit up as she perked to attention. "Like a field trip? Or a…" she began to bounce from one foot to the other, "…a _vacation_?"

"Not quite a –," the reply was cut off by a grunt as the woman shifted something inside the car, "vacation, dear. But it will be a looong trip."

"A long trip where? Where are we going to? Am I gonna miss school?" The little girl asked insistently. She didn't mind missing school; like most children her age, she quite liked the idea.

"You will be missing a few days of school, yes," came the answer, which was followed by a happy shout from the little girl. "Alright," the woman stood up with a long exhale and put a hand on her hips while looking into the car, evidently satisfied with her work, "let's go. Get in."

The woman's voice was light and kind as she opened the back door of the car. The young child slipped into the seat, woman shutting the door after her before getting into the driver's side.

"Oh!" The little child exclaimed as if she just remembered something important. "Is Daddy coming, too? Will we see Daddy? Will he be there?"

"Not this time, sweetie," the woman answered as she started the vehicle. "Daddy's working." A disappointed " _awwww"_ resounded from the back seat, and the car headed down the road.

The scene shifted, and the young child was now seated in a building, while two adults, the woman and now a man the child had never seen before, were conversing in front of her. The man wore a white lab coat, and was holding a clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other.

"Is this the one?" The man asked, gesturing to the little girl.

"Yes, this is her. I'm sure you'll find her quite useful."

The man looked at his clipboard before raising his head back to face the woman. He lowered his voice, but the young child was still close enough to be able to hear the words. "Are you sure about this, Mrs. _?" The name could not be made out. "She _is_ your daughter. Perhaps they could make an excep –."

The woman shook her head, cutting the man off. "No. This is too important to be making exceptions. It was agreed to willingly by my husband and me."

Now losing interest, the little girl swung her legs – they did not reach the floor, short as she was – and looked around the room, her eyes trailing along the ceiling. The next thing she knew, her mother was calling her.

"Come here." The woman gestured to her daughter, and the little child hopped off the chair and came to the adults. "You will go with this man, now. Mommy will leave you here and come back to get you later, okay?"

The little girl looked from the man to the woman. She didn't know this man, he was a stranger, and she wanted to stay with her mother. She had a bad, uneasy feeling about this man, too – something that told her to run away, fast and far. "But Mommy, I don't want to go." She pleaded.

"You have to go, dear."

No, this wasn't what was supposed to happen; this was not what her mother had told her. They were supposed to be going on a trip together. The young child reached out and clung to her mother, small hands gripping the woman's arm. "But, Mommy, please. I want to stay with you, let me stay with you. I don't want to go."

The woman pried off the child's hands, "You can't stay with me now. You have to go with him."

"But –." Tears cracked the little girl's voice.

"Go with this man, and be good." The woman's voice, though mostly kind, lilting with the way an adult speaks to a young child, had a slight, barely detectable edge to it. "Behave, and do everything these people tell you to." The little girl still clung her mother, shaking her head. "Go. If you don't go, Mommy won't love you anymore."

A distraught gasp came from the little girl. "But, Mommy –!"

"If you don't, Mommy won't love you anymore. Do you hear me?" Her voice was still kind, despite her words. "Go, now. Go, or Mommy won't love you anymore."

The little girl let out a distressed cry as she let herself be taken away by the man, further into the building. "Mommy…."

The surroundings shifted again. This time, things were blurry, and she couldn't quite see. Something transparent and clear was in front of her, and she could hear beeping from somewhere, though she couldn't tell where the sound was coming from.

She couldn't move; she might have been strapped down onto something, but there was no way to be sure.

It would have been better if touch and taste had stayed gone.

The next moment, horrible pain racked the little girl's body. She screamed in agony, writhing involuntary against whatever it was that held her still. A horrible taste filled her mouth, but she couldn't identify what it was nor where it came from. The pain stopped for a moment, only to start again as quickly as it had ended. Fire seared through her veins, her muscles, and she couldn't see, her vision going white, then red, then white.

Tears pooled in her eyes and spilled over to trail down her cheeks as she wailed and cried, pain coursing through her young body. She wanted to call out to her mommy, her daddy, for anyone, to just make it stop, _make it stop._

 _(It hurts, it hurts! Make it stop! Please, make it stop!)_

But she couldn't, she dared not say anything, even as she screamed while the waves of white-hot agony rolled over her. She had to be good, she had to behave and let that man and these people do what they wanted.

 _If you don't, Mommy won't love you anymore._

A brief respite, which the child used to gasp and catch her breath, before a sharp feeling of something else, and then more pain, eliciting a piercing, shrill cry from the girl. Her voice was raw now, her face uncomfortably wet and slick with tears. Her muscled constricted, her back arching and only adding to the horrible pain that she felt.

She wanted to leave, beg them to let her go, to go _home._ She didn't want to be here.

Slowly, finally, her limbs began to grow numb, and her vision turned gray, the world fading into nothingness. Before it did, a voice echoed through her mind.

 _If you don't, Mommy won't love you anymore._

* * *

The events of the dream she had were slipping away, leaving an echo of a voice, and that, too, quickly faded. It was as if she hadn't dreamed at all.

Someone was shaking her left shoulder. Kyali let out an irritated, incoherent mumble and slightly turned away from the nuisance, nuzzling into the warm blanket that covered her. Her body felt weak and sluggish. She just wanted to go back to sleep and for whatever was pestering her to stop and let her have peace.

No such luck.

The shaking grew more insistent, and a voice was added to the prodding. "Kyali. Kyali, wake up." Mika's voice insisted.

Kyali groaned in protest and opened her eyes in annoyed slits, glaring at the speaker, who was sitting next to her on the bed. " _Whaaat?_ Le' me sleep." She whined groggily.

Mika let out what sounded like a relieved sigh, then moved from the bed to the chair beside it. "You need to drink this. Here." His arm wrapped around her shoulders and lifted her up into a seated position, then he brought a gray juice pouch to her mouth. Not having the strength to even sit up on her own or hold the container of whatever he was giving her, the raven-haired girl let him.

As soon as its contents reached her tongue, Kyali grimaced at the strange taste and pasty texture, but drank it anyway. Mika was taking care of her, after all; if he said she needed this, she would trust that he knew what he was doing, and cooperate.

While she did, Kyali noticed that she was no longer on top of the bedspread, covered in a small blanket. Instead, she was properly in bed, resting between the sheets and under the blue-and-green covers.

"Yewgh, what was that?" Kyali asked when she was finished and the liquid was gone.

The boy looked at her apologetically as he laid her back down on the bed. "It's an energy drink, or nutrient replacement, that the children here are given after the vampires take their blood." He explained.

"…oh," was all she could find to say. The blue-eyed teenager nodded.

"And here." Mika took a thermos from where it had been placed on the nightstand and showed it to the human. "You must be hungry, right?"

"Yes." Kyali affirmed, and her stomach decided to use that moment to growl, leaving no doubt. She had been hungry before she had passed out from blood loss, and now that the drowsiness of just waking up was gone, she could feel that she was even more so.

After setting the thermos back down, Mika took some pillows and propped them up behind her, then adjusted Kyali to recline against them. He then took the container in his hands once more. Unscrewing the thermos lid, Mika scooted a bit closer in in chair. A spoon appeared in his hand.

"There's more meat in this one," he told her. He dipped out a spoonful of the soup from the thermos and brought it to the girl's mouth, which Kyali accepted gratefully. "But it's still light."

He was right; though mostly thin broth, there were some small pieces of meat mixed in the soup that she had to chew.

Mika continued to spoon-feed her. Though she wasn't against the attention as a matter of principle – it actually felt kind of nice –, it was a little irksome, not to mention embarrassing, to not be able to feed herself. It made Kyali feel like a kid – a _baby_. But it couldn't be helped; her body would have to replenish the blood that she lost, and that other vampire – Ferid, is what Mika called him? – had sucked quite a lot from her. Her body would be quite weak until then.

Although….

 _(Hanai'ame-Rin.)_

No answer.

 _(Ame-Rin. What are you doing?)_

Something that sounded suspiciously like a yawn. _(Huh? Oh. That. Well, you didn't die.)_

Short and exasperated. _(_ Ame _-Rin.)_

 _(What?)_

 _(I know I didn't die. But I'm still very weak.)_

 _(I'm only so powerful, you know.)_

 _(But you could still help me out some more, make my blood replenish faster.)_

 _(Nah. You'll be fine. You can recover the rest of the way on your own.)_

An internal sigh. _(Fine. Be that way.)_

 _(Will do.)_

The conversation with her demon ended, the human girl made another internal sigh. Why did she get such a laid-back demon? Though Kyali supposed that, in many ways, it was a good thing.

She turned her attention from her thoughts back to her surroundings. Mika held up one last spoonful, and the raven-haired girl opened her mouth and took it, chewing and swallowing.

"Thanks." She said, watching as Mika set the empty thermos, with the spoon inside, down on the nightstand.

"Of course." He answered.

Though her limbs were weary, Kyali wasn't sleepy, and her mind was wide awake and clear. The events from earlier were coming back to the front of her thoughts; now would be a good time to ask about what the other, older-looking vampire had said.

She had certain she had heard right, even in her semi-conscious state. The man had spoken of a seraph, just like they had. That had caught her attention and sparked confusion and interest in her clouded mind. But what had truly triggered red flags and alarm bells was the mention of "Hyakuya", and the fact that the vampire had called Mika that name.

What was going on with that? She needed to know.

"Mika." Kyali addressed the vampire boy by the bed.

"Yes?" His eyes moved to focus on her, questioning.

"That…that vampire –."

"Ferid." Mika cut her off. "His name is Ferid Bathory. He's…he's a horrible person, Kyali. An awful person." Mika's gaze had a faraway, almost haunted, look as he spoke, as if his mind had gone elsewhere. Kyali's features softened in concern, one that the blue-eyed teen didn't notice, wondering just what he was thinking about – what had happened to give him that expression and say that about Ferid.

Not that Kyali doubted the description for even a fraction of a second. She had seen enough of that vampire to figure that out for herself, and he'd also had an atmosphere about him that made her uneasy and screamed _run!_

"The things he's done, and would do…." Mika continued, his eyes still fixed on something not in the room. "He's a monster, Kyali. You need stay away from him, avoid him as much as possible."

Kyali nodded, showing him that she understood. She didn't ask about the matter; it was probably something personal, and if not, then definitely something painful to talk about.

"So, Ferid." Kyali switched back to her original topic before Mika could use this one as a reason to scold her again. She felt stupid enough as it was. When she spoke, his mind came back to the present and his eyes turned their focus on her. "I heard him say the word 'seraph' a few times. And…he called you 'Hyakuya.' Why? What was that about?"

A pause. Mika took a deep breath. Then, he began to tell Kyali, in a low voice. "Hyakuya was the name of the orphanage I grew up in." The girl's eyes widen at the revelation. "My family – the other kids – and I took it as our surname."

So, the Hyakuya Sect had had an orphanage? Kyali wasn't sure if she'd heard about that. She racked her brain for the memory. Something vague and formless stirred in the depths of her mind. Maybe she _had_ heard about it somewhere – some offhand comment by someone, perhaps. But where?

But that was not what was most important.

Kyali couldn't believe her ears. This boy, who was a _vampire,_ had been part of that? "So, then, that means…you were part of the Hyakuya –."

"The Hyakuya Sect, yes." Mika finished her sentence for her. "They were using us." Mika's eyes bore into hers. There was something desperate about his gaze. "You know of it." It was half statement, half question. Kyali couldn't help but think he sounded like he was holding back.

She nodded. "Yes. I know of it."

"So, then, you know what they were doing? You recognized the word 'seraph'…." Mika continued to stare at her.

"The Seraph of the End Project experiments." She answered softly. Just where was this going?

It was Mika's turn to nod. "So, you do know." He sounded somewhat relieved. "That's what Ferid was talking about when he called me Hyakuya, and when he used the word 'seraph.' He was talking about you and me and…a friend of mine. I, and my friend, was born with the seraph gene, and was experimented on by that organization. The vampires ran a blood test on you when you were brought here; it said that you had the seraph gene, too, and that…and that you showed signs of being experimented on. Is that how you know of it?"

This vampire boy was a seraph, just like her? It was almost too much for Kyali to take in all at once. She had never expected to have to bring up that part of her life again. And especially not among vampires, whom up until now she had been certain had nothing to do with any of it.

"Yes." She answered. She took a breath before continuing. "That is how I know. My family was part of the organization. When I was little, my parents handed me over to the Hyakuya Sect's scientists to be experimented on."

"Your own parents…?" Mika repeated in a hushed tone of disbelief, looking almost, but not quite, stunned. As if he had encountered something like it before, but still had a hard time believing such things occurred in the world.

"Yeah." She didn't want to think about it _she didn't want to think about it_ , but she knew, that somehow, this was important, and needed to be talked about. "They were devoted to the Hyakuya organization and the Seraph of the End Project. So, when they discovered that I had the seraph gene, they agreed to hand me over to be used as a test subject. At least they didn't give me away when I was a baby." Kyali sighed at that one small, _small_ , bright side. "I was in first grade when they abandoned me.

And she wanted to stop thinking about it _stop thinking about it,_ don't think about the men in white lab coats and metal tables and pain and syringes and tubes that caged her in and being dragged back into the walls of a cold building and –

Wait a minute.

 _Wait._

A flash of memory resurfaced, and Kyali's eyes went wide, snapping to stare at Mika.

No way. Nuh-uh.

 _She was eight years old, being led by a scientist deeper into the building, after having returned from a brief outing that she was sometimes allowed to have. In the midst of adults milling around, a figure caught her eye, and she turned her head to look. A little boy, no more than four or five years old, sat on a metal bench against the wall. His hair was blond and ruffled. Blue eyes gazed into space._

A boy with blond hair and blue eyes, in Japan. Part of the Hyakuya experiments. He looked just like a younger version of….

"Kyali? What's wrong?" Mika questioned, having noticed her staring at him.

"You…. I've seen you!" Her exclamation wasn't quite a shout, her voice wasn't raised, but was infused with so much incredulity and shock that it might as well have been. "In one of their buildings, when we were kids, you were sitting on a bench, and I walked past you. I've seen you before."

The boy question now also widened his eyes, and let out a short, disbelieving chuckle. "I see…." Another short, single chuckle of amazement. "But I…I don't remember. I don't remember any of the experiments, or anything surrounding it, even though it happened until I was eight. The only reason I know is because I was told." He looked at her questioningly. "How do you remember it?"

"They did try to take my memories," Kyali explained, forcing herself to endure having to keep thinking about those events, "but it never worked. I don't know why." She shrugged her shoulders, noticing that there was a bandage over her bite wound once her hair brushed against it at the motion. "I've always had a good memory."

"I see." Mika nodded, then spoke before Kyali could add anything else. "Do you, by any chance, know a boy by the name Yuichiro Hyakuya? He's my age."

Kyali's eyes narrowed in thought. "'Yuichiro'…?" She did know of someone by that name – though she hadn't heard his last name –, and had seen them, only at a passing glance, about a month or two ago. She wasn't sure it if was the same person Mika was speaking of, however. "What does he look like?"

"He has green eyes and black hair."

So it _was_ the same person. "Yes, I know who you're talking about."

"You know him?" Mika perked up at her answer, excitement evident in his voice.

"I don't know him personally, but I know of him. I've seen him a few times, not too long ago, but we never spoke." For obvious reasons. Yuichiro didn't exactly speak English. Though they probably wouldn't have interacted much even if they could communicate with each other. They were just in completely different circles.

"So, you know where he is?" His excited tone didn't die down.

"Unless he was moved. But…why are you asking me this?" Kyali knew the answer, or was pretty sure she did, but she wanted to be certain.

"Yuichiro is my friend – the friend I was talking about earlier, who also has the seraph gene. We were saved from the Hyakuya Sect, but now the humans have him again, and are using him to experiment on for the same project as the others. I want to save him, to get him out of there, before they turn him into something horrible."

That…wouldn't surprise her at all, actually. If the JIDA got hold of someone with the seraph gene, just like they had her, there was no doubt that they would experiment on them. The only reason they had stopped with Kyali was because of the sudden language switch, which was about the most her body had responded to all the years of experimentation.

And now Mika wanted to save his friend, who was in the same situation that she had been. Kyali could understand that. But something wasn't quite adding up. Yuichiro was human. And she had seen Mika as a human, but now he was a vampire, with the same colored eyes that he'd had then. Kyali didn't usually like to pry, but if Mika was making this involve her, she had the right to know. She needed to know all that was going on here.

She thought for a moment about how to phrase the question. "Mika…you say were saved from the organization, and now humans have your friend ' _again_ '. Is that why…?" Kyali trained off, but they both knew the rest of the question.

 _Is that why you're still here, as a vampire, Mika?_

The blue-eyed vampire had the faraway look in his eyes again, and looked like he didn't want to talk about it, but he answered anyway. With a nod, he said, "My family from the orphanage was brought here when the virus killed all the adults. Four years ago, when Yu and I were twelve, we all tried to escape. Ferid caught us, and…Yu escaped, but I almost died, and Krul, the queen here, turned me into a vampire to save me."

 _(Queen…? Ah. The pink-haired vampire girl. That explains a lot.)_ She thought, briefly thinking back to when she had been interrogated.

Mika didn't say what happened to the other children in his family. Kyali didn't ask; she could imagine, with the way the blue-eyed teen – who Kyali now knew actually _was_ a teenager – talked so ill of Ferid and the haunted look he had in his eyes. She pushed those thoughts down before she could mull over them long enough to start to cry, and instead asked a different question.

She looked at the vampire quizzically. "But, you were twelve, and vampires don't age so…how…?" Mika clearly looked every bit a sixteen-year-old.

"I'm not a complete vampire, because I haven't drunk human blood." He explained, his eyes still downcast. "I survive off the blood of the one who turned me. Until I drink human blood and become a complete vampire, I'll still age."

"So that's why your eyes are still blue."

Mika nodded. He then put his hand on the bed, next to Kyali. "Kyali, the three of us, Yuichiro," he used his family member's full name as to not cause confusion with the next word, "you, and me…we're seraphs, and we've each been experimented on and used by these humans. If we could stick together, if you could help me find him and save him…."

 _Now_ it all made sense. What Mika had said before, the kind treatment he was giving her. "Mika, is this what you meant when you said that we aren't enemies?" She asked him.

"Yes. That's why. I'm only with the vampires right now because I have no choice. But I hate them, for what they've done, for the monsters they are. And I can't side with the humans, either, because of what they have done. You and I…we are allies in this. That is, we could be, if you want to…." Mika looked at her pleadingly and curled his gloved fingers into the bedspread, clutching the blue-and-green colored material. "Please. Will you help me? Will you help me find Yu-chan and rescue him?"

Kyali smiled at him, and dragged enough energy out of her limp arm to place her hand on top of his. "I don't know how much help I'll be, but I can try. I will help you."

It would be hard. Figuring out the logistics of all of it and forming an actual plan – that amounted to a jailbreak and going against the JIDA and, well…committing _treason_ – would be a mess. A _huge_ mess.

But she understood. If Kyali were to have a friend in that situation, she would try to do the same thing, to heck with the consequences. She'd only been with the JIDA because they were really the only "safe" place she could be, the only ones who were fighting the vampires. And because of her squad, her friends. She'd had nowhere else to go.

But now her friends were gone _(no, stop, don't think about it you're gonna cry, stop)_ and she had nothing to anchor her there anymore.

She would help him.

At her answer, Mika let out a huff of relief, and his features became adorned with a genuine smile – the first real smile Kyali had seen from him, unlike the strained one from before. He covered her hand with his own so that hers was sandwiched between his, and curled his fingers around her palm. " _Thank you._ "

Kyali smiled back and nodded. "You're welcome."

They sat like that for a few moments. Then, Mika got up and gathered up the things on the nightstand.

"Where are you going?" Kyali asked.

"I going to talk to Krul, the queen. See if I can keep Ferid from hurting you again." Mika paused at the door with his hand on the knob, and turned back to her with a pointed look. "Get some rest, and _stay here_."

The black-haired girl gave a small smile and lifted her hand a centimeter to give the vague impression of a mock salute. "I will." She was starting feel a little sleepy, anyway.

"Good." Mika said with a curt nod and a small smile back, then left the room.

That last order wasn't needed. It wasn't like Kyali could leave the room if he locked the door. Or if she could barely move.

Kyali minutely shook her head in wonder. Life was throwing so much at her. Though, not everything was something she wanted to dodge.

How many tiles did the ceiling have, again?

* * *

 _(She agreed.)_ Relief had washed over Mika when Kyali had said that, and still lingered. He took a chance, and it turned out in his favor. Now, he had an ally.

And he had to try to protect that ally.

He now found himself in the throne room. Krul had finished her meeting a little bit ago. Good. This was urgent.

"Ah, Mika." She greeted. She was standing by the steps to her throne, and turned in his direction.

"Krul, I need to talk to you." He said, his tone serious, as he came to stand next to her.

"What is it?" The pink-haired vampire queen cocked her head in question.

"Ferid found Kyali –."

"Kyali is the human girl?"

"Yes. She was wandering around outside her room, and Ferid found her. He drank her blood and almost killed her." Krul's eyes narrowed at that. "She's okay now," Mika hurriedly explained, "and I've ordered her not to leave the room and to stay away from Ferid, but…he still might try something. Is there any way to keep him away from her?"

Krul thought for a moment, putting an index finger to her chin. She then smiled and nodded. "Don't worry about your little friend, Mika. Leave it to me. I'll take care of Ferid." She turned and began to walk up to her throne.

Mika let out a small sigh of relief. He'd been doing that a lot, lately. "Thank you, Krul."

The vampire queen sat down on her throne. "Is there anything else?"

"No, that's it."

"Then go." She waved her hand to shoo him off. "I have some business to take care of, now."

* * *

Mika nodded, and left the throne room. Good, now that was out of the way. He wondered just what Krul had up her sleeve.

"Your Majesty, my love! To what do I owe the pleasure of being called to be in your most wondrous presence?" Ferid stood at the steps and bowed to Krul, who was sitting cross-legged on her throne.

"Spare me your meaningless sweet talk, Ferid." The queen waved her hand dismissively. "I called you here because I have a mission for you. I need you on front lines, to lead our troops into an upcoming battle."

* * *

 **-Author's Note-**

 **So. Much. Dialogue. I tried to make it flow, but it might be a little clunky, especially with Kyali and Mika's conversation. Please tell me what you think, and if you have any tips.**

 **I'm also not sure about the timeline, so please excuse my guestimation.**

 **Also, happy late birthday, Krul! Turns out her birthday is the same as mine. Howabout that.**

 **Oh, and I don't own Seraph of the End in any way.**

 **Feel free to leave comments and questions!**

 **'Til next time!**

 **-Sky**


End file.
